The study shows that the disease does not have a unique origin and can develop with different trajectories, such as mental disorders, vascular diseases and cognitive impairment
Detect Alzheimer’s Before the symptoms worsened is one of the major medical challenges. Now, a study conducted with researchers from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) in the United States brings a new light on this theme by identifying four distinct paths that can lead to the development of diseases.
The research, published in July in magazine EbiomedicineHe analyzed more than 25,000 medical records of 7,000 patients and revealed that Alzheimer does not derive from a single factor, but from different and complex progressions that accumulate over time. Among the mapped trajectories there are Mental health disorders, encephalopathies, mild cognitive impairment and vascular diseases.
According to experts, understanding of these paths can be decisive in improving early diagnosis and in offering more effective treatments, since available therapies work better in the early stages of the disease.
These paths are not isolated, but sequential, like pieces of the same puzzle that collaborate to form protein tangles in brain This ends up guiding the organ to lose its functional skills.
“We discover that multi -pay trajectories can indicate greater risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease than isolated conditions. Understanding these trajectories can basically change while dealing with early detection and prevention,” said neurologist Mingzhou Fu, a researcher from the UCLA, in a press release.
The study also discovered that most factors appear in a certain order, highlighting its chain effect, like a domino track in which the fall of one pieces pushes the other. In the survey, for example, about 26% of diagnostic progressions had the hypertension Appearing before the depressive episodes and cognitive impairment, for example, but the researchers underline that several populations seem to be more vulnerable to the different routes of Alzheimer’s.
For the Neurologist Iron Dangoni Filho, coordinator of the Insraelite Hospital (Nemo) Excellence Nucleus (Nemo) in Goiânia (Go), the idea of four paths that lead to the disease can allow us to understand how the brain loses its defense lines against Alzheimer’s risk factors.
“These paths work in an integrated way. For example, a patient may have depression For a long time, which is part of the psychiatric path, and still suffers from hypertension or a vascular problem. The same person can have an intracranial trauma of repetition on the encephalopathic side and is already in the phase of the oblivion of light without functional loss, the cognitive path. When adding these factors, the risk of evolution for Alzheimer’s dementia increases significantly, “explains the neurologist.
Four roads for the same disease
The psychiatric path involves disorders of depression and anxiety that alter neurotransmitters and increase brain stress. This process leads to inflammation, hormonal imbalance and reduction of neuronal protection factors, accelerating the manifestation of dementia.
On the encephalopathic path there are conditions that spread the brain, such as intoxications, infections and repetitive traumas, which can be caused by sport, age and even the use of toxic substances. Symptoms include inattention, lentils of difficulty of thought and memory and, when they persisted, increase the vulnerability to that of Alzheimer’s.
The vascular path relates to the hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease to dementia. “These conditions reduce correct blood circulation in the brain. This causes small injuries that over the years compromise connections between neurons. This process can accelerate Alzheimer’s and generate vascular dementia that mixes with it, one of the main causes of mixed dementia, that is, the presence of more than one factor that leads to cognitive decline,” says Dangoni Filo.
Light cognitive impairment, in the last way, is the transition area between a healthy brain and the one that is developing dementia. In this state, the patient presents himself that he forgets above the expected for his age, but maintains autonomy. The neurologist underlines, however, that this path is not irreversible and responds well to the interventions made at the right time.
“In a Brazilian study called Pala2012, with patients with diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, it has been seen that 38% of cases developed dementia, 38% improved and 24% remained stable. This strengthens the idea of treatment and prevention can prevent the evolution of the Demencial paintings “, adds the doctor.
Finally, the neurologist strengthens that the identification of these standards has a direct impact on clinical practice allowing a sequential diagnosis and a close clinical sequel that anticipates the appearance of Alzheimer’s.
The neurologist says that since the moment it is known of the existence of the four paths, the attention to early prevention doubles, since most are modifiable factors. “When we identify, for example, that a patient has poorly controlled hypertension, a story of depression and initial signs of cognitive impairment, we have already tried to act in advance. This aims to delay the progression for Alzheimer’s dementia, as well as improve the quality of life with the guidelines for treatment, the specialized lifestyle -” concludes the Dangoni Fili.
Source: Terra

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.