Alzheimer’s disease brain changes may be the culprit when an older person with no known cognitive decline has a fall, according to a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Diseases.
Investigators followed 83 participants aged more than 65 years whose cognition was judged to be normal by a neurologist at the study’s start. Participants who fell had smaller hippocampi. These brain regions are involved with memory and shrink while Alzheimer’s progresses.
What’s more, networks in the brain that control movement also had signs of decay. In addition, falls that were linked most closely to the presence of amyloid and loss of brain connectivity occurred in later stages of preclinical Alzheimer’s dementia.
These falls tend to occur about five years before memory loss and confusion arise.
Study findings suggest that older people who have experienced falls should be screened for Alzheimer’s.
The authors also found that the presence of amyloid in the brain alone did not raise the risk of falling, but neurodegeneration did. Findings have implications for potential Alzheimer’s treatments, experts said.
From the November 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
