This larger hippocampus may protect these people from the effects of Alzheimers disease-related brain changes, said study author Deniz Erten-Lyons, MD, with Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, and member of the American Academy of Neurology. Hopefully this will lead us eventually to prevention strategies.

For the study, researchers evaluated the brains of 12 people who had sharp memories and thinking skills at the time of death, but whose autopsies showed a high amount of Alzheimers plaques. Their brains were compared to those of 23 people who had the same amount of plaques in their brains, but had been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease before death.

Researchers found the volume of the hippocampus part of the brain was 20 percent greater in the cognitively intact group compared to the Alzheimer's disease group with dementia. There were no other demographic, clinical or pathological differences between the groups and the results remained the same regardless of gender, age and total brain volume.

The study was supported by grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Institute on Aging.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimers disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons disease and stroke. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit www.aan.com.

Source: American Academy of Neurology

Source: U.S. Newswire. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. Powered by YellowBrix.

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