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Study suggests brain imaging can predict dementia

LTC Liability Monitor, January 5, 2006

People with atrophy in certain parts of the brain have a much higher risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease, according to a study released in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. Researchers from Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands followed 511 elderly subjects over an average span of six years, during which time they examined brain volume using magnetic resonance imaging scans and followed up with memory interviews and psychological tests.

Though none of the subjects showed signs of dementia initially, 35 developed dementia during the study's time period and 26 were diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The researchers suggested that imaging the brain's amygdala and hippocampus can help identify people at high risk for dementia, long before they begin to exhibit signs.

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