Alzheimer's disease "markers" do not guarantee that you will develop dementia, said a new study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Certain biological markers are commonly used to establish a person's risk and likelihood of developing the disease, with several categories laid out for experts to test, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation explains.
However, researchers now suggest that even if a person had the first biological markers of Alzheimer's –such as high levels of abnormal amyloid proteins in the brain or shrinkage of the brain – they may not be doomed to develop dementia, said HealthDay in reporting on the study.
"Just because you have amyloid [proteins] in the brain doesn't mean you're going to get dementia tomorrow. It doesn't mean you're going to get dementia in five years," said lead researcher Ron Brookmeyer. "It could be many years, and it could be longer than your natural life expectancy."
Researchers arrived at the findings after completing two long-term studies on Alzheimer's disease which analyzed data on just over 2,000 people.
What they found was that the presence of abnormal amyloid proteins and shrinkage of the brain may signal only a minimal risk of future dementia – a risk that is even lower if the amyloid or shrinkage is detected at a later age.
About 6.08 million Americans already have either clinical Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment due to the disease, but the risk is growing and new research suggests that 46 million Americans now could be in the early stages of the brain disease.
Brookmeyer said his findings may "provide some reassurance to people that despite testing positive on some screening tests, their chances of developing Alzheimer's dementia may remain low," according to HealthDay.
However, the model still needs work and is in the early stages of development.
"We need to dig into the numbers a little bit more and understand what is happening in the continuum of Alzheimer's disease as it progresses," said James Hendrix, director of global science initiatives for the Alzheimer's Association.
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