Woman with Alzheimer “but no symptoms – doctors trunk

An annoying discovery has let doctors scratch their heads: the brain of an American woman with Down Syndrome showed all the classic signs of Alzheimer’s disease, however she was left without symptoms throughout her life.

The patient enrolled in Alzheimer Biomarker’s Daun Syndrome, which was created to explore how both conditions relate. She also donated her brain after her death.

Post -death tests discovered important Alzheimer’s markers, despite the years of clinical evaluations showing that she was a lasting connoisseur.

In fact, she continued to cook, buy and be accompanied without significant changes in behavior before her death.

“Before she died, all the clinical assessments in our years of her study showed that she was a lasting connoisseur, which is why this case is so attractive,” said Jr-Jiu Liou, a consortium investigator and a neurologist with the University of Pittsburgh.

“Despite the pathology of its brain that shows Alzheimer’s, we think that its cognitive stability could be attributed to its high level of education or fundamental genetic factors,” Liou added.

Researchers say the case study can provide knowledge of changing the game of how genetics and lifestyle help some to stay sharp despite brain degeneration, potentially providing benefits to the wider population.

“If we can identify genetic foundations or lifestyle factors that allowed its brain to function well regardless of pathology, we can discover strategies that others can benefit,” said Elizabeth Head, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine and co -author of the study.

People with Daun syndrome face a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s madness, while they grow old three to five times higher than the general population.

Scientists are still working to determine the exact cause, but it is believed that the additional copy of the chromosome 21 directs the overproduction of the amiloid precursor protein. This excess production leads to the creation of amyloid beta plaques in the brain, a distinctive sign of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Most people with Down Syndrome, who have a genetic form of Alzheimer’s, develop learning and memory problems from the mid -1950s, along with Alzheimer’s brain changes until they are in their 40s,” Head told newsweek.â

Then what made this woman different? Researchers have several theories.

The patient had an IQ below average, but she would receive a private education for people with intellectual disabilities. Researchers noted that people with higher levels of education tend to show less cognitive impairment, perhaps because of the healthiest lifestyle choices.

There were also physiological factors that may have given its brain a resistance to Alzheimer’s degeneration, such as additional brain tissue or genes that help cope with the creation of damaged proteins.

Conditions of its Down syndrome can also be a factor. While Down syndrome is characterized by trisomy – which has an additional chromosome – some people with it also have mosaic, in which some cells have three of the chromosome 21, but others have only two typicals.

If that were the case with this patient, the uneven spread of the third chromosome can explain its resistance.

Researchers said they hope the issue will lead to better diagnostic tools and expand the criteria for clinical evidence aiming at Alzheimer’s and madness.

“This study shows how only a person’s participation in research can lead to deep discoveries,” the head said.