UGA Brain Research Sheds Insight on Dementia

“Once tissue dies, as a result of the degenerative process, we can’t replace it.  So you want to get and work toward intervention as early as possible,” says Dr. Stephen Miller, with UGA’s Department of Psychology.

Miller and other researchers, including first author Dr. Carlos Faraco, say progress is being made toward finding a strong bio-marker that precedes mild cognitive impairment.

That, they say, is what often leads to dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

The researchers have been investigating blood flow patterns in the brains of people with and without impairment.  Early indications show hyperactivity in areas linked to memory may foreshadow future problems.

In other words, if the part of the brain that helps people remember things is working harder than usual, dementia could pose a threat down the road.An audio version of this story.

More work needs to be done, but those involved with the data feel confident their research could lead to a way of identifying risk factors.

“I don’t think we’re very far.  It’s an international problem and so there are international investigators,” says Miller.

Roughly 36 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with dementia.

Miller says that number is expected to double every 20 years.