By Kristen Crocker-Johns Hopkins
The findings of the study, which compared PET scans of more than 90 adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI), lend support to growing evidence that measurable changes in the brain happen in people with mild memory problems long before an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and may offer novel targets for treatments to slow or stop disease progression.
The findings appear in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
“The study shows that people with mild cognitive impairment already display loss of the serotonin transporter,” says Gwenn Smith, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
“This measure that reflects serotonin degeneration is associated with problems with memory, even when we take into account in our statistical model MRI measures of neurodegeneration and PET measures of the amyloid protein that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease.”
MCI describes the diagnostic stage between normal brain function in aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Symptoms of MCI include frequent forgetfulness of recent events, word finding difficulty, and loss of the sense of smell. Those with MCI may stay in this stage indefinitely, or progress to more severe forms of cognitive deficits, giving urgency to the search for predictive markers, and possible early prevention interventions, the researchers say.
The investigators caution that their study showed a correlation between lower serotonin transporter levels and memory problems in MCI, and was not designed to show causation or the role of serotonin in the progression from MCI to AD. To answer these questions, further research is needed to study over time healthy controls and individuals with MCI to demonstrate the role of serotonin in disease progression.
For the study, the researchers recruited 49 volunteers with MCI, and 45 healthy adults ages 55 and older who underwent an MRI to measure changes in brain structure and two positron emission tomography (PET) scans of their brains between 2009 and 2022.
The researchers used PET scans to look specifically at the serotonin transporter—a neurotransmitter, or brain chemical long associated with positive mood, appetite, and sleep—and to look at the amyloid-beta protein (Aβ) distribution in the brain.
Aβ is thought to play a central role in the pathology of AD. Studies in mice done at Johns Hopkins have shown that serotonin degeneration occurs before the development of widespread beta-amyloid deposits in the brain. Loss of serotonin is often associated with depression, anxiety, and psychological disorders.
The researchers found that MCI patients had lower levels of the serotonin transporter, and higher levels of Aβ than healthy controls. The MCI patients had up to 25% lower serotonin transporter levels in cortical and limbic regions than healthy controls. In particular, they report, lower serotonin transporter levels were found in cortical, limbic, and subcortical regions of the brains in those with MCI, areas specifically responsible for executive function, emotion, and memory.
“The correlation we observed between lower serotonin transporters and memory problems in MCI is important because we may have identified a brain chemical that we can safely target that may improve cognitive deficits and, potentially, depressive symptoms,” says Smith.
“If we can show that serotonin loss over time is directly involved in the transition from MCI to AD, recently developed antidepressant medications may be an effective way to improve memory deficits and depressive symptoms and thus, may be a powerful way forward to slow disease progression.”
Researchers say future studies include longitudinal follow up of individuals with MCI to compare serotonin degeneration to the increase in and Aβ levels, as well as the increase in levels of the Tau protein that is also associated with AD compared to healthy adults. They are also studying multi-modal antidepressant drugs to treat depression and memory deficits in hopes of mitigating and halting symptoms.
Additional coauthors are from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The authors have no conflicts to disclose.
The National Institutes of Health supported the work.
Source: Johns Hopkins University
Original Study DOI: 10.3233/JAD-230570
—
This post was previously published on FUTURITY.ORG and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
***
You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project
 Compliments Men Want to Hear More Often |
 Relationships Aren’t Easy, But They’re Worth It |
 The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex |
 ..A Man’s Kiss Tells You Everything |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Log in if you wish to renew an existing subscription.
Username
First Name
Last Name
Password
Password Again
Choose your subscription level
- Yearly – $50.00 – 1 Year
- Monthly – $6.99 – 1 Month
Credit / Debit Card PayPal Choose Your Payment Method
Auto Renew
Subscribe to The Good Men Project Daily Newsletter By completing this registration form, you are also agreeing to our Terms of Service which can be found here.
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: iStock.com
The post Low Levels of ‘Happiness’ Chemical May Play Role in Alzheimer’s appeared first on The Good Men Project.
