CHICAGO, Mar 07, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Even mild
loss of memory or language ability is not normal at any age say Chicago
researchers, and is more likely a symptom of Alzheimer's or other disease.
Researchers followed the health of more than 1,000 volunteers until they
died, giving each participant clinical evaluations and tests of mental
acuity annually.
When researchers then examined the brain tissue of 180 of the
participants -- 37 with mild cognitive impairment, 60 without cognitive
impairment, and the rest with dementia.
Of the 37 with cognitive impairment, 75 percent had Alzheimer's disease or
evidence of having had a stroke.
The good news, said the research team from Rush University Medical Center in
Chicago, is of the 60 people without loss of brain function, one third also
had some sort of evidence of disease.
Even so, despite being an average of 85 years old, they experienced no loss
of memory or other impairment.
"It is likely that these individuals have some type of 'reserve' capacity in
their brains that allows them to escape the loss of memory despite the
accumulation of pathology," said Dr. David Bennett, principal author of the
paper.
Results of the study appear in the journal, Neurology.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.