A new study suggests that Alzheimer's disease develops slower in people with bigger heads, perhaps because their larger brains have more cognitive power in reserve.
A new study suggests that Alzheimer's disease develops slower in people with bigger heads, perhaps because their larger brains have more cognitive power in reserve.
Past studies have suggested that patients with Alzheimer's disease with larger head circumference have better cognitive performance at the same level of brain pathology than those with smaller head circumference. To examine these further, researchers studied the medical records of 270 patients with Alzheimer's. They looked for links between brain shrinkage, head circumference - an indicator of brain size - and the progression of their disease.
After taking into account factors such as the age and ethnicity of the patients, it was found that patients with larger head sizes tended toward less brain atrophy. Also, their dementia was less advanced. While the difference between larger-headed and smaller-headed people was significant from a statistical point of view, the researchers said it's impossible to pinpoint exactly what the difference means in terms of how the brain works overall.
The research doesn't confirm that brain size and the speed of the disease are directly connectedbut suggests that larger head circumference is associated with less cognitive impairment in the face of cerebral atrophy. One possible explanation to the above findings could be that larger heads, and therefore larger brains, contain more nerve cells and connections between cells. Therefore more brain cells have to die before the threshold is crossed where brain damage leads to cognitive impairment and other symptoms of dementia. This finding supports the notion that head circumference (and presumably brain size) offers protection against symptoms of Alzheimer's disease through enhanced brain reserve.
Past studies have suggested that patients with Alzheimer's disease with larger head circumference have better cognitive performance at the same level of brain pathology than those with smaller head circumference. To examine these further, researchers studied the medical records of 270 patients with Alzheimer's. They looked for links between brain shrinkage, head circumference - an indicator of brain size - and the progression of their disease.
After taking into account factors such as the age and ethnicity of the patients, it was found that patients with larger head sizes tended toward less brain atrophy. Also, their dementia was less advanced. While the difference between larger-headed and smaller-headed people was significant from a statistical point of view, the researchers said it's impossible to pinpoint exactly what the difference means in terms of how the brain works overall.
The research doesn't confirm that brain size and the speed of the disease are directly connectedbut suggests that larger head circumference is associated with less cognitive impairment in the face of cerebral atrophy. One possible explanation to the above findings could be that larger heads, and therefore larger brains, contain more nerve cells and connections between cells. Therefore more brain cells have to die before the threshold is crossed where brain damage leads to cognitive impairment and other symptoms of dementia. This finding supports the notion that head circumference (and presumably brain size) offers protection against symptoms of Alzheimer's disease through enhanced brain reserve.
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