By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Aug. 2 HealthDay News)--the Deadly March Alzheimer is less in people age 80 or older than younger elderly, scientists have found.
The risk of developing Alzheimer's increases with age, and by 85, the risk is about 50 percent. But those who develop progressive brain disorder that at the end of life will be less aggressive than the disease whose symptoms appear in the 1960s and 1970s, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego.
Lead researcher Dominic Holland from the University Department of neurosciences, said that doctors will need to consider these findings, assessing the elderly patients with Alzheimer 's.
"Methods of early detection, which will be based on biomarkers, as well as mental capacity, you should consider the age of the persons assessed," he said. Because the "old" elderly could deteriorate in a slightly slower rate than younger patients, doctors may not realize that these people suffering from Alzheimer 's.
The findings also have relevance for the assessment of potential Alzheimer's treatment and prognosis for patients of different Alzheimer's care costs, clinical Holland and other experts say.
There is currently no effective treatment or the treatment of Alzheimer 's, which gradually destroys the cells of the brain and robs people of memory and their ability to perform everyday tasks and communication.
The report was published online in the journal PLoS Aug. 2 one.
Study progress of Alzheimer, Holland and colleagues used data from the research initiative of the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging. They looked at more than 700 people aged 65 to 90, some with normal mental functioning, some mild symptoms of dementia and other persons suffering from Alzheimer 's.
Participants are tested every 6 or 12 months.
The researchers found that Alzheimer's patients lost mental skills to younger more quickly than older patients.
The decline among patients younger paralleled the accelerated loss of brain tissue and increase bone marrow or knob fluid Alzheimer's seen among the younger age group, compared with older patients, study authors added.
Researchers are not sure why Alzheimer's is more aggressive in younger patients. One explanation may be that older patients are decreasing trend in this slower pace for a longer period of time, in some unknown factor keeping symptoms at bay, they suggest.
Another possibility is the older patients with dementia Alzheimer 's, which can place plus the full effect of Alzheimer's in the brain. But such a diagnosis must be made with the Visual inspection, which is the only way that Alzheimer's is diagnosed, Holland noted carefully.
Alzheimer's disease currently affects an estimated 5.6 million Americans, and this number is expected to triple by 2050 as the baby boom generation ages.
Finding that previous develops the disease more aggressive is not good news for those younger older patients who suffer losses for a long time, the deterioration of their mental capacities, Holland said.
Another expert said that the findings may have implications for predicting costs of health and clinical trials.
"This is an extremely important paper about the impact on both the forecast costs of care for Alzheimer's and planning clinical trials," said Dr. Sam Gandy, Associate Director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
If the clinical picture in the over-85 population is milder than what is typical in populations Younger, these older patients would remain independent already and projections for the economic burden to the health care system should be adjusted, he said.
"Annual cost of 200 billion dollars in the United States now is; the projection of $ 1 trillion annually by 2050, "Gandy says.
"Maybe that $ 1 trillion is really only $ 500 to 750 billion dollars. Still catastrophic, but it is worth taking this into account, "he added in the projection.
Equally important, if the speed of the decline is less than 85 years of age at the age of 65-years, which must be taken into account during the recruitment for clinical trials, Gandy said.
For example, if all of the patients receiving the drug were more than 85 and all patients receiving inactive placebo were significantly younger, it might appear that the drug worked, when in fact the population were incorrectly matched, Gandy pointed out.
"We must know that we wanted the population to be identical as possible, but really do not know the specific of this phenomenon before," he said.
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Dominic Holland, Ph.d., researcher, Department of neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine; Sam Gandy, M.D., Ph.d., Mount Sinai Research Chair and Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry Alzheimer's and the CEO, the Mount Sinai Center for cognitive health and Associate Director, Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City; Aug. 2, 2012, PLoS One, the online
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