Learning about a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease may not lead to emotional need, but the motivation to maintain healthy lifestyle changes tend to fade over time, even in people with a high risk, according to a study with a Rutgers Health Researcher.
The study, published in Alzheimer & Dementia, Was written by Sapir Golan Shekhtman, A Doctoral Degree Student at the Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, and Led byit Lesman-Segev, A Neuroradiologist at The Department of Diagnostic Imagola Medica, Researcher Medical, Researcher Medical, Researcher Medical, Researcher Medical, Researcher Medical, Researcher Medica, Israel, and co-authored by Michal Schnaider Beeri, director of the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s research center of the Rutgers Brain Health Institute.
A protein called amyloid beta in the brain is one of the core pathologies in Alzheimer’s disease. The structure of amyloid plaques can be detected for decades before the symptoms appear. These plaques can be visualized and quantified by a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan.
The researchers wanted to understand how people react emotionally to learning if they are at risk of cognitive decline.
The study followed 199 healthy adults who underwent amyloid PET scans to check their Amyloid beta status. Before the scan, the participants completed surveys with the measurement of fear, depression, memory problems and motivation for lifestyle adjustments. They conducted the same surveys from six months after learning their results.
Results of the study show that participants who do not have an amyloid structure experienced considerable emotional improvements: they reported much lower levels of depression, anxiety and memory complaints.
Their motivation to maintain lifestyle improvements also decreased.
Conversely, participants with the presence of amyloid did not show an increased depression or memory complaints, but did have a decrease in fear and motivation for lifestyle adjustments.
The findings suggest that revealing the presence of amyloid participants does not affect negatively, and simply knowing the results seems to generally reduce the negative feelings. “
Michal Schnaider Beeri, director, Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center in the Rutgers Brain Health Institute
This study provides new insight into how individuals react emotionally to learning their amyloid status, an underexposed subject, the researchers said. It also means that the amyloid status is announced to cognitively healthy individuals, a practice that was not common in earlier studies. The researchers added that the study emphasizes individual differences in reactions to disclosure, which promotes a more personalized disclosure process.
“The results emphasize how easily people lose the motivation to bring lifestyle changes aimed at maintaining cognitive health,” said Shekhtman. “Strategies to maintain this healthy behavior are crucial.”
“These findings have an even greater meaning in an era that moves in the direction of preventive Alzheimer’s disease therapies,” said Lesman-Segev. “When such treatments become available, cognitive normal persons will probably undergo screening with Alzheimer’s biomarkers to be eligible for targeted therapies. That is why it is essential to better understand the reaction to disclosure and to optimize the disclosure process.”