Skip to main content

Or 34,00 After 66% tax deduction

I make a monthly donation I make an IFI donation
Research, science & health

Detect senile plaques to diagnose Alzheimer disease

Published on: 23/07/2015 Reading time: 1 min
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy ©CC BY-SA 3.0

Several recent studies confirm that the presence of senile plaques or the beta-amyloid protein permit the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease or predictions as to who will develop the disease.

The degeneration of neurons in Alzheimer disease is due in part to abnormal accumulation of a protein called beta-amyloid peptide (Aβ peptide) outside nerve cells, leading to the formation of "amyloid plaques," also called "senile plaques."

L'espoir de mieux traiter la maladie d'Alzheimer

Découvrez toutes nos vidéos sur notre page dédiée.

The most important study of senile plaques in the human brain confirms that the presence of beta-amyloid can help determine who has Alzheimer disease, and especially who will develop the disease. This study was performed by an international consortium including Pr. Harald Hampel of the Pierre and Marie Curie University and Institut du Cerveau - ICM researchers in the "FRONTLAB" team (Frontal systems: functions and dysfunctions" directed by Prs. Bruno Dubois and Richard Lévy.

Another study, published in May, 2015, in the journal JAMA, supports the central and precocious role played in the disease by beta-amyloid, the protein implicated in the formation of the plaques mentioned above. The data show that the amyloid protein can appear 20 to 30 years before the symptoms of dementia, and the great majority of Alzheimer disease patients have the protein.

La maladie d'Alzheimer : votre rendez-vous à l'ICM

An estimated 35.6 million persons are affected by Alzheimer disease worldwide. Alzheimer disease thus represents an important risk for the aging population and their families. It is predicted that these figures will almost double every 20 years, reaching 65.7 persons in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050. Alzheimer disease is a challenge for public health worldwide: it's the most frequent neurodegenerative disease, a major worldwide epidemic that exerts increasing pressure on our health systems and societies.

Recent proof of a silent stage of the disease, which lasts approximately ten years during which no clinical symptoms are evident but biological markers can be observed, shows that it is possible to accelerate early detection of Alzheimer disease. To this end, a study was performed to identify potential biomarkers of onset of the disease.

Pr. Harald Hampel occupies the chair AXA-UPMC "Anticipate Alzheimer disease" of Sorbonne Universities. He also participates in the key research program INSIGHT directed by Pr. Bruno Dubois (INveStIGation of AlzHeimer’s PredicTors in Subjective Memory Complainers) ongoing in the Institut du Cerveau - ICM, the Hospitalo-University Institute (IHU-A-Institut du Cerveau - ICM), the IM2A (Institute of memory and Alzheimer disease) and the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital.

Identify diagnostic or predictive markers of Alzheimer disease, notably 20 to 30 years before the symptoms of dementia appear, is today a major challenge.

Sources

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25988463/
Ossenkoppele R et al. JAMA. 2015 May 19;313(19):1939-49. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.4669. PubMed PMID: 25988463; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4517678.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25988462/
Jansen WJ et al. Prevalence of cerebral amyloid pathology in persons without dementia: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2015 May 19;313(19):1924-38. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.4668. PubMed PMID: 25988462; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4486209.

Our news on the subject

Interneurones. Crédit : UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center.
Stimulating specific neurons in the striatum stops compulsive behaviour
What if we could resist compulsions? These irrational behaviours, particularly common in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), are hard to suppress. At Paris Brain Institute, Éric Burguière's team shows that we can anticipate them and block them...
09.10.2024 Research, science & health
Les nerfs moteurs présents dans la moelle épinière se projettent vers la périphérie, où ils entrent en contact avec les muscles, formant des connexions appelées jonctions neuromusculaires. Crédit : James N. Sleigh.
Ultrasound show unexpected effects on motor neuron disease
Over the past fifteen years, neurosurgeons have been perfecting a fascinating technique: using ultrasound to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier to facilitate the action of therapeutic molecules in the central nervous system. At Paris Brain...
09.05.2024 Research, science & health
Un neurone
Rett syndrome: a new gene therapy on the way
Gene therapy could be our best chance of treating Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes severe intellectual and motor impairments. At Paris Brain Institute, Françoise Piguet and her colleagues have looked closely at brain cholesterol...
07.16.2024 Research, science & health
Lésions d’un patient à l’inclusion dans le protocole (M0) disparues après 2 ans de traitement à la Leriglitazone (M24)
The dual effect of leriglitazone in X-linked Adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD)
In 2023, the team led by Professor Fanny Mochel (AP-HP, Sorbonne University), a Paris brain Institute researcher, showed that daily dose of leriglitazone slow down the progression of myelopathy in patients with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, and...
06.28.2024 Research, science & health
Une tête de statue de l'île de Pâques sur laquelle sont posées des éléctrodes
A multimodal approach to better predict recovery in patients with disorders of consciousness
When a patient is admitted to intensive care due to a disorder of consciousness—such as a coma—establishing their neurological prognosis is a crucial yet challenging task. To reduce the uncertainty that precedes the medical decision, a group of...
05.30.2024 Research, science & health
Population de bactéries commensales (en rouge) dans un intestin grêle de souris. Crédit : University of Chicago
The composition of the gut microbiota could influence decision-making
The way we make decisions in a social context can be explained by psychological, social, and political factors. But what if other forces were at work? Hilke Plassmann and her colleagues from the Paris Brain Institute and the University of Bonn show...
05.16.2024 Research, science & health
See all our news