Alzheimer’s hits more than just the memory; patients experience immune system dysfunction as well

Researchers have discovered that there is a link between inflammation biomarkers in both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid and markers of Alzheimer’s disease-associated pathology. This means that the disease does not only affect memory, but the immune system of patients as well. The study was conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus , together with the University of Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the University of California San Francisco Memory and Aging Center . Past research has suggested that pathology related to Alzheimer’s disease may develop before its clinical symptoms become evident, and that inflammation is a primary component of the disease. Moreover, links between the levels of inflammatory markers in cerebrospinal fluid and blood and mild cognitive impairment were revealed in previous studies. Furthermore, researchers discovered that increases in inflammatory markers may occur even decades before any symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease manifest. (Related: Predicting Alzheimer’s: Major inflammation in your 40s puts you at high risk, making the case for improving lifestyle habits .) The research team analyzed the relationship of inflammatory markers in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma to see how well plasma inflammatory markers indicate central nervous system inflammation. They also identified whether plasma inflammatory markers were separately associated with cerebrospinal fluid markers of Alzheimer’s-related pathology and neuronal damage. In the study, they investigated blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples of 173 middle-aged and older adults in the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center . The participants were healthy and did not have clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, although several had family records of dementia presumed because of the disease. Mother Nature’s micronutrient secret : Organic Broccoli Sprout Capsules now available, delivering 280mg of high-density nutrition, including the extraordinary "sulforaphane" and "glucosinolate" nutrients found only in cruciferous healing foods. Every lot laboratory tested. […]

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