7-Year Head Start on an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis?!

There’s no stopping an avalanche. You either get OUT of the way, or you get SWEPT away.

Alzheimer’s isn’t much different.

If you wait until you have obvious symptoms and an official diagnosis to start protecting your brain function, the prognosis isn’t very good.

But if you know you’re at risk earlier, you can ACT to slow the progression.

Now, researchers have identified a way to detect Alzheimer’s YEARS before symptoms develop.

Researchers collected cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the brains of volunteers who were an average age of 57 and in good mental health.

They then followed the volunteers for about 16 years, periodically retesting their CSF for…

• markers commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease (like amyloid beta and tau)
• levels of a protein in the fluid surrounding the brain called NPTX2

The researchers wanted to determine if changes in these makers over time impacted Alzheimer’s risk.

What they found was that the folks with lower levels of the NPTX2 protein tended to experience cognitive decline EARLIER than those with higher levels.

This connection between NPTX2 levels and cognitive decline was significant in those who developed mild cognitive impairment over the next seven years AND in those who developed it after that.

In addition, the levels of NPTX2 at baseline predicted WHEN cognitive issues would begin to appear—even more so than other common markers like amyloid beta and tau.

In other words, when levels of this protein drop, it could contribute to the development of cognitive decline.

And that means a simple test to tell you your individual NPTX2 levels may be developed one day soon.

This vital information could give you a critical head start to help you avoid cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s YEARS before they muddle your thinking or steal your memory.

The tests aren’t available yet, of course. But I will keep on top of the research, and I’ll be sure to let you know when they are.

And in the meantime, don’t miss the top 10 Alzheimer’s red flags. These conditions are associated with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis up to 10 years later.

P.S. Research reveals a shortfall in THIS common nutrient could send your chance of developing dementia climbing. (Topping up your levels could reduce your risk!)

SOURCE:

“NPTX2 in Cerebrospinal Fluid Predicts the Progression from Normal Cognition to Mild Cognitive Impairment,” Annals of Neurology, 22 June 2023, Early View, doi. org/10.1002/ana.26725