Degenerative brain disease may begin to develop earlier than previously thought.
Lewy body disease degenerates the brain. Alamy/AOP
The common degenerative brain disease Lewy bodies can start to develop already in middle age, says a recent Finnish study.
In a study conducted at the universities of Helsinki and Tampere, for the first time, the occurrence of tissue changes in the disease was investigated in young and middle-aged persons who were not known to have Lewy body disease or Parkinson’s disease.
In previous studies, the occurrence of the disease has been investigated in people over 60 years old. Now Finnish researchers found out that disease changes can start to develop in the brain already in middle age, even if there are no actual symptoms yet.
– Our findings suggest that Lewy body disease is more common in people over the age of 50 than previously thought, says the assistant professor Liisa Myllykangas from the University of Helsinki in a press release.
The youngest person involved in the study, in whom the disease was found, was over 54 years old.
Hard to recognize
Lewy body is the most common brain degenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. In the disease, protein deposits, or so-called Lewy bodies, develop in the brain stem, the limbic system of the brain and the cerebral cortex.
People diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease also have similar tissue changes.
– In the study, we found at least beginning disease changes in nine percent of people over 50 who did not have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body disease, says Myllykangas.
Lewy body disease can be difficult to recognize in its early stages, as it progresses slowly. The disease also has common features with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Symptoms often include movement disorders, memory problems and psychiatric symptoms.
Iltalehti has previously reported that Lewy body disease is often only discovered during an autopsy.
Even now, the obtained results are based on Tampere Sudden Death Study to the brain samples obtained in the study, which consists of the autopsies of about six hundred Finns who died outside the hospital. The deceased were 16-95 years old.
The story continues after the fact box.
THE FACTS
Symptoms and course of the disease
- Lewy body disease progresses slowly. Its first symptoms may be a decline in intellectual functioning and fluctuations in attention and alertness.
- Recurrent visual hallucinations are a characteristic feature of the disease. Behavioral disorders during REM sleep also occur frequently.
- The disease picture also includes symptoms of Parkinson’s disease such as slowness of movements, stiffness and gait disturbances.
- The disease can also cause short episodes of loss of consciousness, falls, confusion and behavioral symptoms.
- Memory problems usually only develop as the disease progresses.
- According to the Health Library, the disease leads to loss of independence, hospitalization and finally death in an average of 8 years.
Early treatment works best
Lewy body disease is the second most common degenerative brain disease after Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Health Library, it occurs in about five percent of Finns over 75 and in about 20 percent of memory disorders.
The treatment of the disease is symptomatic, and it would be good to start at an early stage. For example, walking and balance problems caused by the disease are treated with physiotherapy. The earlier it is started, the longer the ability to exercise can be maintained.
Myllykangas says that in the future, the treatments developed for degenerative brain diseases will probably be aimed at patients who are in the early stages of the disease or are just at risk of developing the disease.
– Treatments are most effective in the early stages of the disease. Therefore, finding out the prevalence of disease changes in younger age groups is also important.
The Finnish study has been published Annals of Neurology in the journal. Associate professor Myllykangas reminds that its results are only preliminary. Further studies are needed to confirm them.
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