Blood Protein Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

Dementia causes a gradual decline in brain function, in particular related to memory, thinking, language, understanding and judgement. Persons affected may also behave inappropriately in social situations, and have difficulty controlling their emotions.

There are several causes of dementia, the commonest being Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's usually occurs in people over the age of 65, cut can also affect younger people. There is no cure for the illness at present, but there is medication which can slow down the progression of symptoms in some people. Life expectancy is dependent on how quickly the symptoms progress, and this can range from anything between 18 months to 15 years.

Some groundbreaking research about Alzheimer's disease has been published this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry Journal. Scientists have found that high levels of a protein in the blood called CLUSTERIN, are linked to developing Alzheimer's. Increased levels of clusterin in the blood were found in people up to 10 years before they showed any signs of the disease in their brain. This is therefore an extremely early change. Levels of the protein were also measured in people who already had Alzheimer's disease. It was found that there was also a link between the level of clusterin in the blood and severity of the illness.

The hope for the future is that Alzheimer's could be diagnosed in the very early stages. This would then result in earlier treatment. People could also be encouraged to modify lifestyle factors which can also affect the progression of dementia. These lifestyle factors include exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a Mediterranean diet, giving up smoking, and maintaining alcohol intake within recommended guidelines. In fact with regards to alcohol, a modest intake of alcohol is more protective compared to no alcohol at all. This would be 2 small glasses of wine a day in a woman, and 3 small glasses of wine a day in a man. Being socially active has also been found to be protective against dementia.