Anna McKeever, Alvar Paris, James Cullen, Lawrence Hayes, Craig Ritchie, Karen Ritchie, Adam Waldman, Katie Wells, Albert Busza, Isabelle Carriere, John O’Brien
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-200238
Summary
One abnormality commonly found in the brains of those living with Alzheimer’s disease is the reduced volume of a subfield of the hippocampus called the CA1. The current study sought to investigate whether this change is apparent at midlife.
In line with previous research, lower CA1 volume was found to be associated with both a family history of dementia and greater cardiovascular risk factors, and this change was evident at a mean age of 53. This is important, as it demonstrates that the change can be seen in midlife before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease have begun. This study also revealed a second, unexpected finding: Individuals with a family history of dementia showed an increase in three other hippocampal regions combined (CA3, CA4, DG), perhaps indicating an early inflammatory or neurogenesis response to early Alzheimer’s disease.
Maria-Eleni Dounavi, Elijah Mak, Katie Wells, Karen Ritchie, Craig W. Ritchie, Li Su, John T.O’ Brien
Neurobiology of Ageing. 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.03.006
Summary
In this study, we found that participants with an APOEe4 genotype (a known genetic risk factor for dementia) were more likely to have a smaller hippocampal molecular layer, and this change was apparent at both the baseline and 2-year follow up.
Together with previous findings, it appears that the molecular layer may be one of the first areas to show vulnerability to the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s. However, it was noted that differences in the molecular layer were not significantly related to dementia risk defined by family history or cardiovascular factors.
John T O’Brien, Michael J Firbank, Karen Ritchie,, Katie Wells, Guy B Williams, Craig W Ritchie, Li Su
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 2019
Individuals with a higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease dementia in the future, as predicted by their mid-life CAIDE score, show more shrinkage of brain volume, measured over the course of two years.
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Hinesh Topiwala, Graciela Muniz Terrera, Lucy Stirland, Kathryn Saunderson, Tom C. Russ, Marshall F. Dozier and Craig W. Ritchie
Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 2018
Habib M, Mak E, Gabel S, Su L, Williams G, Waldman A, Wells K, Ritchie K, Ritchie C, O’Brien JT.
Ageing research reviews. 2017
10.1016/j.arr.2017.03.004
Mak E, Gabel S, Mirette H, Su L, Williams GB, Waldman A, Wells K, Ritchie K, Ritchie C, O’Brien J.
Ageing research reviews. 2017
10.1016/j.arr.2016.10.001