It looks like a person's race does have an impact on how Alzheimer's disease develops and affects the brain.
A group of U.S. researchers has discovered that Alzheimer's disease tends to have different pathologies between European Americans and African Americans.
For the study, they analyzed the brains of people who had died of Alzheimer's disease as well as the brain changes that could contribute to dementia later on. These include tissue death due to stroke and the build-up of certain nerve cell proteins, which is common among people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Upon analyzing the samples, they learned that pure Alzheimer's is more common among European Americans. Meanwhile, only 25 percent of the African Americans have pathology of strictly Alzheimer's disease. The rest have developed dementia due to brain changes such as tissue death after stroke.
The study, the researchers believe, can be extremely helpful in helping the industry develop a more targeted approach to treatment and intervention. This may mean that the treatment can be different according to race. Further, those working on drugs and, ultimately, the cure may also have to bring their attention to other brain changes that can lead to dementia, especially among African Americans, which register a higher mixed pathology.
Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common forms of dementia. In fact, at least 60% of the cases of dementia will be diagnosed as Alzheimer's. It is characterized by worsening memory loss, cognitive ability, and behavior, as the brain degenerates over time. According to Alzheimer's Association, although people who are 65 years old and above have a higher risk of the disease due to their age, it is not a normal part of the aging process. Recent studies, meanwhile, suggest that the disease can begin at least a decade before the symptoms start to appear.
So far, there's no known cure, but treatments can help delay the progression.
