The first sign of Alzheimer's disease is thought to be cognitive impairment. But in new findings, the first sign of the illness is decline glucose level in the brain.
In a study published in Translational Psychiatry, a decline in energy and glucose level triggered the onset of cognitive impairment specifically the Alzheimer's disease. This is the reason why diabetes is a known risk factor for dementia because glucose cannot pass through the cell.
In the study, researchers intentionally deprived the brains of mice with glucose. In the maze memory test, the performance of the deprived mice is significantly worse compared to the control mice. The result shows that their communication pathway in the brain broke down due to decline in cognitive ability. Their phosphorylated tau and cell death also increased; indicates the beginning of Alzheimer's disease.
The protein called p38 can prevent the occurrence of glucose deprivation. This protein naturally occurs in the body to make an action in glucose deprivation. The p38 may be a candidate to develop a drug to prevent the rise of cognitive decline due to decreased glucose levels. However, the researchers are still making a further study about the role of p38 in cognitive impairments.
Meanwhile, this July, researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide Australia, Institute of Molecular Medicine, and the University of California, will be making a drug to prevent the build-up of amyloid plaques in the brain. This may probably a step in developing a vaccine against Alzheimer's disease in a span of five years, according to the study.