Specialized scans can identify changes in the brains of people at risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research. In the study, researchers used a special MRI scan and a special PET scan in people in their 70s and 80s who were aging normally to help identify those who had brain changes thought to be linked with Alzheimer’s disease. The scans looked for amyloid-beta plaques, one of the early changes linked with the disease, and for biochemical changes, says researcher Kejal Kantarci, MD, associate professor of radiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. About a third had high levels of plaques, she found. Those who had high levels of plaques on the PET scan also tended to have the biochemical changes found on the MRI.
