APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

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Fiver
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APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

Post by Fiver »

Anyone seen this or have comments?

APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

Impaired memory-guided attention in asymptomatic APOE4 carriers

Jacqueline Zimmermann, Claude Alain & Chris Butler

The paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44471-1

A summary: https://www.labroots.com/trending/genet ... lzheimer-s

Attention and memory may be impaired in individuals at-risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), though standard cognitive assessments typically study the two in parallel. In reality, attention and memory interact to facilitate information processing, and thus a more integrative approach is required. Here, we used a novel auditory paradigm to assess how long-term memory for auditory scenes facilitates detection of an auditory target in asymptomatic carriers of Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), the principle risk gene for late-onset AD. We tested 60 healthy middle-aged adults with varying doses of APOE4 - 20 APOE4 homozygotes (E4/E4), 20 heterozygotes (E3/E4) and 20 non-carriers (E3/E3) - to determine effect on memory-guided attention. While explicit memory was unaffected by genotype, APOE4 dose significantly impaired memory-guided attention. A relationship between explicit memory and memory-guided attention was observed in non-carriers, but this correlation was not significant in E3/E4 and E4/E4 carriers, suggesting that APOE4 carriers rely less on explicit memory to facilitate attention. Since memory-guided attention declined with age in APOE4 homozygotes, this impairment may reflect early disease rather than being a life-long trait. In sum, asymptomatic individuals at increased genetic risk of AD show an age-dependent decline in attention-memory interaction when memory alone is not impaired.
TelopeaBlue
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Re: APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

Post by TelopeaBlue »

Fiver wrote:Anyone seen this or have comments?

APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

Impaired memory-guided attention in asymptomatic APOE4 carriers
I don't know about that paper, but coincidentally I got an email yesterday from MindCrowd about a study I participated in (I have no idea whether I was one who made the cut or not, but I did the test and it pissed me off royally as the instructions were so vague. But who knows, maybe that was part of the intent - annoy the people who overanalyze). It seems to point to a similar conclusion.

Anyhow, back to MindCrowd in their own words with my emphases
The biggest takeaway is that those at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease due to family history may demonstrate changes in memory performance as early as their 20s, which indicates it may not simply be an age problem after all. Other findings include:

Those with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, and are younger than 65, do not perform as well on average as their peers who do not have a family history of Alzheimer’s.

The family history effect is particularly pronounced among men, as well as those with lower educational attainment, diabetes, and carriers of a common genetic change a gene called APOE that has long been associated with Alzheimer’s risk.
Note that according to their definition, I don't have a family history of dementia, despite both grandmothers ending that way. They limited it to first degree relatives. Here's the research paper.
Fiver
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Re: APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

Post by Fiver »

Interesting TelopeaB - thanks for sharing that.

I suppose this isn't surprising. And while it is a bit terrifying (I need my brain working at least fairly well) it also makes an excellent point - that this is not something that just becomes a problem for some people when they are "old".
circular
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Re: APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

Post by circular »

I recall looking at my mom when I was young, maybe 20s?, so she would have been in her middle years, and just knowing she would get Alzheimer's. There was part of her otherwise fine mind that was a blank, sluggish, not catching the ball. Unfortunately, I recognized the same in myself. I still haven't conquered it. I've always felt there was just something "wrong" with my brain. Eventually I learned what, at least at the umbrella level. The exact inputs that are aggravating it are teased out over time with fluctuating progress, but I don't think if I went back to school I'd perform better than I did as an undergrad years ago. I've always been aware it had nothing to do with intelligence but with processing steps.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
Fiver
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Re: APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

Post by Fiver »

Hi Circular. Interesting. Me too. I've always known that my brain didn't quite work like others.

"Processing steps" is a good way to put it. I've felt like I use alternate "pathways" or parts of my brain to do things that came naturally to others. I feel like I use the creative, artistic, and emotional centers to do logical, detail-oriented tasks. I know it sounds odd, but it's always been that way for me. It works to a degree, though I do not think I am nearly as "smart" - or ever could be - as the brilliant people I work around. I have to work harder.

I don't think it is about "intelligence", like you said, but about how I can or can not take in, store, and access information - for me it's slower, especially under stress.

I think this is one reason I was never a big drinker. There's no fun at all in slowing down the process steps any further.
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Re: APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

Post by hairyfairy »

Maybe this is why I did so poorly in school.
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Re: APOE4 Carriers Have Memory Problems Before the Onset of Alzheimer's

Post by PBW »

I never had issues in school but have experienced a slow decline in ability to recall names of people, books, movies, street names. I can describe concepts around these things but not the word or words that label.
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