high-pitched spirit level of iron could be consociate with an increased risk of developingAlzheimer ’s disease . The results of a young study , published inNature Communications , suggest it may be useful to measure iron degree in the brain in parliamentary law to pinpoint who is at risk of modernize the disease . The determination may also urge on succeeding studies to look into whether a drug that lowers Fe levels could slow the disease ’s procession .
Researchers from theUniversity of Melbournestudied the mental capacity of 144 individuals with mild cognitive deterioration ( MCI ) , 67 with Alzheimer ’s disease and 91 goodish person . Over a seven - class period , they assess the tier of ferritin — a protein that stores Fe — in their cerebrospinal fluid and carried out regular MRI scans and cognitive tests .
" We think that smoothing iron is contribute to the disease progression of Alzheimer ’s disease , " go author Dr Scott Ayton , toldABC Science .
The study found that somebody with high degree of ferritin had quicker declines in cognitive abilities and were diagnosed with Alzheimer ’s at an earlier age . Patients with MCI who had gamey levels of ferritin also developed Alzheimer ’s disease faster . The researcher also bump a data link between ferritin and a gene strongly associated with Alzheimer ’s disease known as ApoE4 .
Ayton tellsABC Sciencethat there is enough “ stiff evidence ” to bear out a clinical visitation where the iron content in the mentality is lowered to see if it would “ impart a cognitive benefit . ” When mouth toNew Scientist , he points toa 24 - year - old studyof a drug that halve the charge per unit of Alzheimer ’s cognitive decline . The drug — call deferiprone — was finally sidelined , but Aytonsays , " Perhaps it ’s time to refocus the athletic field on face at branding iron as a target . "
But Dr. James Pickett , head of research at Alzheimer ’s Society , warned in astatementthat the “ biggest misunderstanding we could make would be to take these results as meaning that a test for conversion from soft cognitive stultification to Alzheimer ’s disease is around the corner . It ’s not clear enough from this survey whether iron levels could be used to augur this rebirth with enough accuracy and we ca n’t draw any conclusions about whether we might be able-bodied to use smoothing iron as a target for future treatments . "
