Scientists have developed a new method for analyzing MRI images that helps detect the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease long before the first symptoms appear.
According to the journal Molecular Psychiatry, scientists have developed a special digital index for analyzing MRI images, showing how well a person’s brain structure and condition match patterns previously observed in Alzheimer’s patients. For this purpose, they used huge databases containing thousands of MRI images of people with and without dementia, and then trained the system to recognize early changes in different brain regions.
Scientists have observed that signs of dementia development may appear in the brain at an early age, even in people in their thirties and forties, although noticeable problems with memory decline usually appear later in life.
According to the researchers, Alzheimer's disease develops gradually over decades, so early detection of risks may allow more time for prevention and slowing down age-related brain changes.
The developers of the new method believe that this technology may become part of routine MRI scans in the future, helping doctors identify people at risk of dementia at an early age. They emphasize that the method is still experimental and requires further research and studies before it can be adopted in clinical medical practices.
