UCLA researchers publish Alzheimer’s roadmap

Scientists from UCLA Health recently published findings in eBioMedicine titled “Identifying common disease trajectories of Alzheimer’s disease with electronic health records.” The study presents a new understanding of neurodegeneration, according to an announcement.

The authors hope their discovery will help shape better preventative care and earlier diagnostics. Key findings from 12,556 electronic health records:

• The researchers determined four “major trajectory clusters” for Alzheimer’s including mental health, encephalopathy, mild cognitive impairment, and vascular disease pathways.
• High risk groups were found for each pathway.
• About “26% of diagnostic progressions showed consistent directional ordering.”
• The four pathways proved to be more accurate for detecting Alzheimer’s disease risk than one diagnosis “when validated in an independent population.”