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For years, the terms "Alzheimer's disease" and "dementia" have been used interchangeably, often as a catch-all term to describe cognitive decline and memory loss.
But a new study published today suggests that the two conditions do not share the same meaning and that the understanding of dementia may be incorrect.
"A lot of what we thought about dementia was wrong," Peter Nelson, lead author of the study and a professor at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky, told Healthline.
"We had previously thought it was acceptable to use the terms" Alzheimer "and" dementia "interchangeably. However, we now know that Alzheimer's disease is just one of many ways to contract dementia, "he said.
According to researchers, recent clinical trials have shown that all people suspected of having Alzheimer's disease are actually affected.
In fact, many people enrolled in clinical trials of Alzheimer's drugs have been shown not to have amyloid in their brains. Amyloid is a sticky substance that interferes with cognitive processes.
In recent years, the scientific community has also noted that a significant number of people with advanced dementia symptoms did not show signs of amyloid protein or tau protein at autopsies after death.
It is believed that a protein known as TPD-43 was rather a factor.
Nelson is part of a group of international researchers who set out to define diagnostic criteria for this protein, a newly named dementia called LATE, which corresponds to age-related and predominantly limbic encephalopathy TDP-43. .
The particular disease appears in the elderly and has a different appearance in the brain of Alzheimer's disease, although it is similar to the deadly disease.
"THE END is a new cause of dementia, but research has been going on for about 15 years," Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer's Association told Healthline. "Many people have a LATE, especially people over 80 years old. And this comes in very similar forms to the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. According to the authors of the study, about one in four people over the age of 85 has enough TPD-43 protein that causes memory and thinking problems in LATE. Today, many people with LATE can be diagnosed with Alzheimer 's disease. "
The idea that TPD-43 may contribute to cognitive decline or memory loss is not new. The researchers have explored the idea over the last decade.
The research of Nelson and his colleagues is the first to give a name to the discovery and collect data to badess its frequency.
Fargo says the work will help provide better prevention and treatment programs for people with dementia.
"Research like this could bring us closer to precision medicine in the future, where individuals benefit from prevention and personalized treatments based on their unique health status," he said. "Accurate identification of the biological changes in LATE – and other forms of dementia – promotes a better understanding of the brain, which will lead researchers to develop new treatments that more selectively target the characteristics that cause the disease."
Experts say this study highlights that it is no longer appropriate to use the terms Alzheimer's disease and dementia as if they are alike.
"They should not be used interchangeably," Dr. Michael Greicius, an badociate professor of neurology at Stanford University in California, told Healthline. "Dementia is the generic term that means that a person has had a change in their cognitive abilities that makes them unable to live safely and independently. Under this generic term, there are many different causes of dementia. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, followed by vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia, and somewhere in this range probably probably late.
Brittany Dugger, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at the Davis School of Medicine at the University of California. According to her, having separate definitions for complex conditions is not only useful for clinicians, but also for patients.
"The definitions are important. One patient once said to me that he was relieved to receive his diagnosis because he was giving a name to what he was experiencing, "Dugger told Healthline. "However, many of our definitions in the field of dementia, like that of TARD, are pathological, that is, after the death of a person, the diagnosis can be given . "
"The real test is whether these definitions can make sense in terms of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis," she explained. "Further work on the various cohorts and populations, if possible, is warranted."
Nelson compares the research group's work to the end of the appearance of Benjamin Franklin's discovery of electricity. Franklin was able to formalize an idea that encouraged others to study electricity.
In the same way, says Nelson, by providing a scientific goal and a name for the idea behind TPD-43, researchers around the world will be able to deepen their understanding of dementia and, in turn, offer new treatment possibilities.
"Ultimately, it is about improving people and improving public health. All the rest is just dressing, "he said. "We hope this report will help get Alzheimer's clinical trials out of those people with dementia syndrome, the fact that non-Alzheimer's participate in these trials is one of the reasons for their failure. And of course, secondly, we will need new clinical trials for LATE. "
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