- Researchers report that as the hippocampus area of the brain shrinks, memory worsens.
- They note that the decline in hippocampus volume could be due to different forms of dementia, not just Alzheimer’s disease.
- The hippocampus helps individuals form new memories.
Hippocampus atrophy may be associated with cognitive decline.
In fact, researchers in a study published today in the journal Neurology report that the faster the atrophy process, the faster the decline.
They add that problems with memory could be attributed to hippocampus shrinkage, but not all people with signs of this condition have Alzheimer’s disease.
In their study, researchers analyzed the number of
The participants, with a median age of 73, did not have cognitive or memory problems at the start of the study. Of the participants, 56% were women and 44% were men. All study subjects had brain scans annually for 10 years.
The researchers said that a faster decline in the size of the hippocampus was associated with a more rapid cognitive decline. The scientists also found that hippocampus atrophy was independent of amyloid plaques and tau tangles increases.
The shrinkage of the hippocampus alone accounted for 10 percent of the difference in cognitive function, they said.
“This is an interesting study, showing us that not only amyloid-beta plaques in the brain but also decreasing the size of the hippocampus leads to memory loss,” said Dr. Shae Datta, the co-director of NYU Langone’s Concussion Center in New York and director of cognitive neurology at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island.
“The rise of new drugs that can target the amyloid-beta plaques in the brain that are an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease would not work on patients that did not have the amyloid-beta plaques and instead had hippocampal atrophy,” Datta, who was not involved in the study, explained to Medical News Today. “This is why this study is important [it…
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