Brain imaging ‘can detect differences in infants at risk of Alzheimer’s’

A new US study has used brain imaging techniques to highlight some of the earliest developmental differences in children who may be at risk of Alzheimer's disease later in life.

Researchers from Brown University and Banner Alzheimer's Institute have found that infants who carry the APOE-E4 gene variant – which is associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's – tend to have differences in brain development at an early age.

Children who carried the APOE-E4 gene generally had increased brain growth in areas in the frontal lobe, but decreased growth in several areas in the middle and rear of the brain that tend to be affected by elderly people with the neurodegenerative condition.

This does not mean these children are destined to develop the disease, but it does reveal that the brains of E4 carriers develop differently from others.

Senior author Sean Deoni, leader of Brown University's Advanced Baby Imaging Lab, said: "These results do not establish a direct link to the changes seen in Alzheimer's patients, but with more research they may tell us something about how the gene contributes to Alzheimer's risk later in life."

The Alzheimer's Society estimates that dementia currently affects around 650,000 people in England, with Alzheimer's disease responsible for around 62 percent of these cases.