The Alzheimer researchers have frequently faced criticism from people regarding the topic of a lack of diversity. Studies often highlight the fact that participant tools are very often white and that they do not accurately reflect the populations that are majorly afflicted by this disease. The African Americans are at a higher risk of developing this disease; however, ironically, they are also the ones who are significantly underrepresented during the conduct of clinical trials and the work of observational studies. A team of researchers at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute at the Keck School of Medicine had recently conducted a study. This study has established a landmark by examining the human brain and discovering how early Alzheimer’s proteins manifest themselves across various racial and ethnic groups.
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Understanding Alzheimer’s and dementia
The research focused on Alzheimer’s disorder of Alzheimer, which is the most common cause of dementia, causing issues with memory loss, behavioural changes, as well as cognitive decline in a person’s body. Alzheimer’s is a disease that is characterised by the build-up of 2 proteins inside the brain. These are: 1- Amyloid beta, which forms plaques inside the human body. 2- Tau, which is responsible for the formation of tangles and disrupts communication inside the brain cells.
The build-up of ‘’tau’’ inside the region of the medial temporal lobe, which is a region extremely critical for the memory of a person, is considered an early warning sign. It is a sign of the progression of the disease. By using the newer generation tau PET tracer, the research examined the brain scans as well as the memory test results of various people who came from different races. The research suggested that the memory changes inside black adults were influenced more strongly by factors of amyloid and tau alone.
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Research details
By using the tau PET tracer (a tool used to detect brain) of the new generation, the researcher’s team examined the brain scans as well as the memory test results of more than a thousand adults. These people were in a normal cognitive state and had mild cognitive impairment.
In the research, higher ‘’tau’’ levels were linked with a worse condition of memory overall, and the build-up of another brain protein ‘’amyloid’’ strengthened this only inside the bodies of non-Hispanic white but not in black participants. It suggested that the memory changes that took place in the black people may be influenced more strongly by other factors apart from the tau and amyloid alone.
Major findings
The difference among populations was found by the research, which identified that the density and locations of the early Alzheimer’s biomarkers differed significantly between the black population and the white population. While genetics of a person plays a major role, the researchers emphasised highly upon the social determinant factors related to health, like education, the quality of air, and access to healthcare facilities. In a diverse study conducted among older adults who were not suffering from dementia, higher levels of tau presence were found among black and Hispanic participants in comparison with the white participants. The relation between these two brain proteins and memory performance was found to be different across various groups, which suggests that Alzheimer biomarkers may not tell the full story for everyone.
Researcher’s perspective
The lead author of the study, Koral V. Wheeler, a PhD candidate at the Stevens INI, said that ‘’if we want to advance towards precision medicine efforts for all the different communities of the world, we need to understand how these brain markers behave across diverse populations’’. Arthur W. Toga, PhD, director of the Stevens INI and also a co-author. lead of HABS-HD praised that studies and research of this kind are essential for improving how the earlier signs of biological diseases like Alzheimer’s are interpreted. He also said that a more complete and deep understanding of these imaging markers can help researchers and provide a better way to identify risk tracks of diseases, the progression of the diseases, as well as their future prevention strategies.
Conclusion
The above article concludes that if the researchers want to advance in the work of precision medicine efforts that suit all the different communities, they need to understand how these brain makers behave across diverse populations. These findings lead to the conclusion that the biological timeline of this disease varies by population and highlight that the current diagnostic tools and future treatments may need to be recalibrated to ensure they are effective for everyone.
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