A team of researchers from Florida International University (FIU) examined a brain protein previously associated with brain inflammation in Alzheimer's patients, in an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the protein and the disease.

What they discovered could translate into an early signal of neurodegeneration that could eventually lead to dementia.

In mice models of Alzheimer's , elevated levels of translocator protein 18 kDa, or TSPO, were found in animals as young as six weeks, which is the equivalent of about 18-20 human years. The increase was found in the subiculum , a part of the brain crucial for memory.

The team found a similar TSPO pattern in human brain tissue taken postmortem from nine people in Colombia with a genetic mutation that

See Full Page