Why do some people get Alzheimer’s disease and others don’t? What makes one person’s brain healthier than another’s? And what can be done to improve, or at least slow down, the deterioration of a brain?
Researchers at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine have developed a new tool that they believe will help fill the gaps.
The Brain Health Platform provides insight into a patient’s brain health and risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Using the data collected, doctors will be able to create a personalized care plan to help reduce the onset of the disease, said Dr. James Galvin, director of UM’s Comprehensive Center for Brain Health and lead author of the report. article, recently published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
“I think we spend way too much time talking about illness, disability and death — that’s what doctors always do,” Galvin said. “I think we need to spend more time talking about health, vitality and capabilities. And so we can change the tone of the conversation to prevention, instead of reaction.
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Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease affects about one in nine people age 65 and older, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Young people can also get Alzheimer’s disease, although it’s less common.
Certain factors, such as age, genetics and family history, can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. There is also growing evidence that healthy behaviors, such as getting enough sleep, not smoking, and staying active, can reduce a person’s cognitive decline.
“It’s one thing to say that physical activity is good for you, mental activity is good for you, and using your brain is good for you. But if you don’t know how to measure these things, then how can you study them? said Galvin.
“I say jokingly, this is how I spent my pandemic – we spent a lot of time trying to think about how we could measure these things,” he said. So we created scales and we validated these scales. And then we realized that these scales were giving us really important information.
The Alzheimer’s Association claims that the disease “begins”. 20 years or more before symptoms appear. This makes it difficult to effectively treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease, although it “also implies that there is a significant window of time in which we can intervene in the progression of the disease”, according to the association.
There is not yet a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, although treatments can relieve symptoms. One of the challenges doctors face is identifying those at risk before the prevention window closes. This is what led UM researchers to create the Brain Health Platform.
In the study, researchers evaluated 230 participants: 71 healthy controls; 71 with mild cognitive impairment and 88 with diagnosed dementia. The team found that participants with abnormal scores on the platform had a greater than 95% chance of being impaired. The results from the platforms will make it easier for doctors to assess a patient’s brain health and decide on a treatment plan.
How does the new UM tool identify Alzheimer’s risk?
The screening tool is already being used by UHealth patients and research participants at the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, and relies on the following assessments to determine a person’s brain health and future risk:
▪ Resilience index, which tells doctors how much we’ve built our brains over our lifetimes. It looks at your lifestyle, such as your diet, exercise, and the type of cognitive and leisure activities you engage in.
▪ The vulnerability index It takes into account risk factors that can be found in medical records, such as age, sex, race, ethnicity and education, and conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or depression.
▪ the Numbers and symbols coding task uses numbers and symbols to test a patient’s “executive functions” such as problem solving and decision making.
After the 15-20 minute assessment is complete, doctors can review the results to assess a person’s brain health and determine whether it is a healthy brain, a healthy brain with certain risks, or of a deteriorating brain. Then the doctor can create a treatment plan. Sometimes it may not even involve medication.
Instead, patients might be prescribed an exercise routine or a change in diet. A patient who reads books, for example, might be told to join a book club to increase brain stimulation by adding social activity, Galvin said. Rather, it is a “healthy body, healthy mind, healthy spirit leading to a healthy brain approach”.
This does not preclude taking medication when you need it. But it’s a way to empower people to take charge of their health and give them actionable data, so they can have a personalized care plan designed for them,” Galvin said.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said. It’s a plan that suits me as an individual. And that’s going to make him much more likely to be respected.
This story was originally published December 20, 2022 3:16 p.m.
Michelle Marchante is the medical reporter for the Miami Herald. Previously, she covered all things Florida for the Herald as a Realtime/Breaking News reporter. She graduated with honors from Florida International University, where she served as editor of Student Media PantherNOW. Previously, she worked as a news editor at WSVN Channel 7 and was a 2020-2021 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism Fellow.
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