Indications Why Older People Are More Susceptible to Alzheimer's Disease

A group of researchers with the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Berlin has discovered a possible cause for the connection between aging and the increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers, led by Susanne Wegmann, found that tau-proteins — certain molecules that are tied to Alzheimer's — spread more easily in the aging brain. Tau-proteins appear in the memory centers first, which is consistent with Alzheimer's patients' first experiencing memory decline. But eventually they migrate along nerve fibers and spread elsewhere in the brain. As tau-proteins spread, they begin to affect other cognitive abilities. Wegmann and her colleagues tested the speed at which tau-proteins spread in a laboratory experiment using mice. They discovered that tau-proteins spread twice as fast in older mice than in younger ones. Wegmann plans to continue her research at the DZNE.