What to know

• University of Oslo researchers tracking healthy older adults over 20 years found measurable structural brain changes at least seven years before amyloid plaques became visible on PET scans—the earliest disease signal detected to date.
• The findings challenge the current understanding that amyloid plaques mark the disease's onset and suggest disease processes may begin through other biological mechanisms independent of plaque accumulation.
• Medical experts view the discovery as extending the intervention window for prevention and treatment, since disease appears to begin much earlier than current imaging can detect.
• The research raises questions about how Alzheimer's disease should be defined and could broaden the search for treatment targets beyond amyloid plaques.

“These findings suggest that there are brain changes that precede the first detectable signs of plaque accumulation, which is considered the earliest phase of the disease and occurs many years before cognitive symptoms start showing.”

Anders Martin Fjell, Professor, University of Oslo · Science Daily ↗

James Michael Roe Study lead researcher; now International Scientific Lead at Cercare MedicalAnders Martin Fjell Professor at University of Oslo; head of Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and CognitionDr. Lucy Hooper Private GP; co-founder of Coyne Medical