Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014;13(2-3):157-9.
doi: 10.1159/000353690. Epub 2013 Aug 7.

Imaging and cognitive reserve studies predict dementia in presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease subjects

Camilla Ferrari  1 , Benedetta Nacmias, Silvia Bagnoli, Irene Piaceri, Gemma Lombardi, Silvia Pradella, Andrea Tedde, Sandro Sorbi
Affiliations
Review

Imaging and cognitive reserve studies predict dementia in presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease subjects

Camilla Ferrari et al. Neurodegener Dis. 2014.

Abstract

There is strong evidence that Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology starts decades before clinical onset. Cognitive reserve (CR) and brain reserve can be a good predictive model for AD development. Neuroimaging can help in describing cerebral reserves, as well as in detecting AD brain pathology before the onset of clinical dementia. Education and occupation act as proxies for CR and are associated with a lower risk of AD and delayed onset of symptoms. The apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-ε4 allele is a strong risk factor for AD and is associated with lower hippocampal volume even in normal aging. A fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography study of brain metabolism shows different metabolic phenotypes among subjects with different educational levels and ApoE genotypes. More highly educated subjects reach a clinical level when the cerebral areas involved in coping with network disruption are seriously impaired, and the AD-ε4 carriers show more global metabolic brain impairment compared with non-ε4 carriers. Thus, CR can counteract a genetically unfavorable background, suggesting a possible preventive strategy. AD research findings have already produced results, since recent epidemiological studies report a decreasing incidence of AD in the last years.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

Substances

-