A study shows that Alzheimer related changes in the brain can occur in men and women without dementia. The Religious Orders Study and the Memory and Aging project are long-running studies in which older men and women have periodic assessments of memory and other mental functioning.

More than one third of a group of 134 individuals were found to have Alzheimer like changes in their brains after death. This was despite no sign of cognitive impairment at the time of death.

But this sub-group did show difficulties with episodic memory on tests; they had problems with recalling stories and word lists. The researchers think that maybe there is some kind of neural reserve, which protects people from developing dementia even as damage to the brain accumulates. The findings also suggest that minor episodic memory loss is not necessarily normal. It could represent the first signs of mild cognitive impairment and lead, eventually, to dementia.

Source

Neurology 27th June 2006