ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The two dominant proteins that determine how much blood flows through the body's arteries have been implicated in Alzheimer's disease, say U.S. researchers.
University of Rochester Medical Center researchers say while the first visible symptom of Alzheimer's may be a person forgetting names or faces, the very first physical change is actually a decline in the amount of blood that flows in the brain.
Doctors have found that not only is blood flow within the brain reduced, the body's capacity to allocate blood to different areas of the brain on demand is blunted in people with the disease.
"A reduction in blood flow precedes the decline in cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients," said Dr. Berislav Zlokovic, a neurovascular expert.
"People used to say, well, the brain is atrophying because of the disease, so not as much blood as usual is needed. But perhaps it's the opposite, that the brain is dying because of the reduced blood flow."
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
