A new study in JAMA Neurology suggests that brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease begin to occur as early as infancy.
Researchers found that infants who carry the gene APOE-E4, which is a variant associates with an increased risk of Alzheimer's, have differences in brain development compared to infants without the gene. To test their hypothesis, the researchers performed MRI brain scans of 162 healthy infants between 2 months and 25 months.
"It's clear now that this gene at least is doing something early on," senior author Sean Deoni, who oversees Brown University's Advanced Baby Imaging Lab, said, according to FoxNews.com. "If we can understand that, it gives us a better understanding of why it increases the risk for Alzheimer's, and it gives us an early window to do something about it--instead of waiting 60 years when cognitive symptoms are taking effect." Article