Education May Help Brain Cope With the Damage Caused by Alzheimer's

"The good news is that greater education may allow people to harbor amyloid plaques and other brain pathology linked to Alzheimer's without experiencing cognitive decline," says first author Catherine Roe, Ph.D., research instructor in neurology.

Roe and her colleagues at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center used the study participants' education levels to approximate a theoretical quality called cognitive reserve: improved abilities in thinking, learning and memory that result from regularly challenging and making use of the brain. Neurologists have long speculated that this quality, roughly equivalent to the benefits that accrue in the body via regular physical exercise, can help the brain cope with the damage caused by Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's still cannot be conclusively diagnosed in any way other than post-mortem brain examination. But the presence of amyloid plaques can be revealed by an imaging agent for positron emission tomography scans, Pittsburgh Compound B (PIB). Amyloid plaques are a key brain change that many neurologists suspect either causes Alzheimer's or is closely linked to its onset.

"This technique has been used before to analyze patients with dementia and their education levels, but our study is among the first, if not the first, to include both patients with Alzheimer's-type dementia and nondemented participants," says Roe.

In addition to scanning the participants' brains with PIB, the participants took several tests that assessed their cognitive abilities and status. They also ranked their educational experience: high-school degree or less, college experience up to an undergraduate degree, and graduate schooling.

Those whose brains showed little evidence of plaque buildup scored high on all the tests. But while most participants with high levels of brain plaque scored poorly on the tests, those who had done postgraduate work still scored well. Despite signs that Alzheimer's might already be ravaging the brains of this subgroup, their cognitive abilities had not declined and they had not become demented.

Roe and her colleagues plan follow-up studies that will look at other potential indicators of increased cognitive reserve, including hobbies, social and intellectual activities and the mental challenges provided by professional duties.

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References:
1. Roe CM, Mintun MA, D'Angelo G, Xiong C, Grant EA, Morris JC. Alzheimer's disease and cognitive reserve. Archives of Neurology 2008;65[11]:1467-1471.