- New research suggests factors like diabetes, alcohol consumption, and traffic-related pollution may damage a part of the brain associated with dementia.
- The brain area of concern is the last to develop during adolescence and is the first to deteriorate with age.
- The study also explored genetic factors that may influence the effect of modifiable factors on dementia risk.
A comprehensive new study examined the effects of a wide range of modifiable factors and dementia onset.
The study authors had previously identified a “weak spot” in the brain that develops slowly in adolescence, deteriorates early during aging, and has been linked to dementia.
This new study’s findings indicate three factors are most likely to lead to the degradation of this fragile brain region: diabetes, alcohol consumption, and nitrogen dioxide from traffic-related air pollution.
Unique to this new research were two mutations of a lesser-studied genome and an enigmatic blood group called the XG antigen system.
The study is published in Nature Communications.
While the focus of the study is primarily on modifiable factors, the authors felt that the inclusion of potential genetic influences provided a clear overall picture of the health of individuals in the study.
The authors analyzed data — including brain scans — of 39,676 UK Biobank volunteers. They were considered healthier than the general population. Just a few had received a diagnosis of dementia, and participants ranged from 44 to 83 years of age.
The authors measured the effects of 161 modifiable — and a few genetic — factors. Among these were seven changes in the genome that affect this “weak spot.” Some are related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), an increased risk of cardiovascular death, and schizophrenia.
Dr. Logan DuBose, a resident physician at George Washington University, not involved in the study, described this weak spot in the brain as the network that develops last and the first to…
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