Can Alzheimer's Disease be Prevented?
Can Alzheimer's Disease be Prevented?
Though we can’t do much about our age or genetic profile, recent research suggests that maintaining good overall health habits may help lower the chances of developing several serious diseases,
including ones affecting the brain. This article describes a number of health, lifestyle, and environmental factors that could make a difference in AD and that are being actively studied by scientists.
Many of these potential factors have been identified in observational and animal studies. At present, they are only associated with changes in AD risk. Only further research, including clinical trials, will reveal whether, in fact, these factors can help to prevent AD. It is important to understand that the degree to which a person might be helped by any of these factors may be very slight, especially if the person has inherited a bad form of a risk factor gene. That is why it is so important to also focus on other parts of the AD prevention research mission. At the same time that scientists are examining lifestyle factors, many others are developing drugs that can enhance protective biochemical pathways or block pathways that lead to cognitive decline and AD.
Investigating heart disease risk. High levels of bloodcholesterol are a known risk factor for heart disease. In recent years, basic research in laboratories as well as population and animal studies have suggested there may also be a connection between high levels of bloodcholesterol and development of AD. These findings led scientists to wonder whether drugs that lower blood cholesterol progression. Recent population and animal studies have raised the
possibility that statins, the most commonly prescribed cholesterol lowering drugs, may reduce the risk of dementia. Other studies, though, have found no association between statins and dementia
risk. Thus, it is not clear at this time whether statins affect the onset or progression of AD. To help answer this question, the NIA is currently funding a clinical trial to determine whether one particular statin slows the progression of AD.
Other research has found that a high level of the amino acid homocysteine is associated with an increased risk of developing AD. High levels of homocysteine are known to increase heart disease
risk, and NIA studies in mice have shown that high levels of this amino acid can make neurons stop working and die. The relationship between AD risk and homocysteine levels is particularly appealing because blood levels of homocysteine can be reduced by increasing intake of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12. An NIA-funded clinical trial is currently studying whether reducing homocysteine levels with folic acid and vitamin B6 and B12
supplements will slow the rate of cognitive decline in older adults with AD.
In this article
- Introduction
- Preventing a Complex Disease Like AD is a Challenge
- AD Risk Factors We Can’t Control
- The Search for AD Prevention Strategies
- The Search for Other Clues That May Contribute to Prevention Strategies
- What Can You Do?
- A Final Word of Caution
- For More Information
The Search for AD Prevention Strategies
Though we can’t do much about our age or genetic profile, recent research suggests that maintaining good overall health habits may help lower the chances of developing several serious diseases,
including ones affecting the brain. This article describes a number of health, lifestyle, and environmental factors that could make a difference in AD and that are being actively studied by scientists.
Many of these potential factors have been identified in observational and animal studies. At present, they are only associated with changes in AD risk. Only further research, including clinical trials, will reveal whether, in fact, these factors can help to prevent AD. It is important to understand that the degree to which a person might be helped by any of these factors may be very slight, especially if the person has inherited a bad form of a risk factor gene. That is why it is so important to also focus on other parts of the AD prevention research mission. At the same time that scientists are examining lifestyle factors, many others are developing drugs that can enhance protective biochemical pathways or block pathways that lead to cognitive decline and AD.
Investigating heart disease risk. High levels of bloodcholesterol are a known risk factor for heart disease. In recent years, basic research in laboratories as well as population and animal studies have suggested there may also be a connection between high levels of bloodcholesterol and development of AD. These findings led scientists to wonder whether drugs that lower blood cholesterol progression. Recent population and animal studies have raised the
possibility that statins, the most commonly prescribed cholesterol lowering drugs, may reduce the risk of dementia. Other studies, though, have found no association between statins and dementia
risk. Thus, it is not clear at this time whether statins affect the onset or progression of AD. To help answer this question, the NIA is currently funding a clinical trial to determine whether one particular statin slows the progression of AD.
Other research has found that a high level of the amino acid homocysteine is associated with an increased risk of developing AD. High levels of homocysteine are known to increase heart disease
risk, and NIA studies in mice have shown that high levels of this amino acid can make neurons stop working and die. The relationship between AD risk and homocysteine levels is particularly appealing because blood levels of homocysteine can be reduced by increasing intake of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12. An NIA-funded clinical trial is currently studying whether reducing homocysteine levels with folic acid and vitamin B6 and B12
supplements will slow the rate of cognitive decline in older adults with AD.
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