The results of a new study reveal the presence of the brain plaque buildup related to Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of individuals as young as 20. And that means it’s never too early to plan for the future.
The study’s co-author, Changiz Geula, explained that he and his colleagues analyzed the brain tissue of 48 deceased people, ranging in age from 20 to 99. The buildup in victims of Alzheimer’s is referred to as plaque and involves an abnormal protein that surrounds specialized neurons in the individual’s brain tissue.
While experts still aren’t sure of the exact mechanism by which the plaque causes damage or even if the buildup is the sole cause of Alzheimer’s, the discovery of the plaque in brain tissue so young is groundbreaking.
Ultimately, the information from the study has demonstrated that doctors and experts might have to intervene to prevent Alzheimer’s much earlier than they would have imagined. Since researchers now realize that the proteins involved in the buildup linked to Alzheimer’s can be present in some brains as early as age 20, researchers now realize that treatment for the disease will have to be much more preventative than originally thought.