SEATTLE, July 11 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers says preventive Alzheimer's treatment may need to begin before the age of 50 in order to be effective.
The researchers found that in people genetically prone to Alzheimer's disease, significant amounts of a brain-clogging protein start moving from the spinal fluid to the brain at about age 50 or younger, the Seattle Times reported.
Previous research has indicated that Alzheimer's begins years before symptoms appear. But this latest work by Dr. Elaine Peskind, associate director of the University of Washington Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, and her colleagues is the first to look at early signs across a wide range of ages, the Times said.
Scientists predict a dramatic increase in Alzheimer's in the decades ahead, the newspaper said. About 4.5 million people in the United States have the disease. Researchers say that could increase to 16 million by 2050.
