The discovery authors are neurologists from the Mayo Clinic in the U.S., often referred to as a “medical Mecca,” along with their colleagues from various scientific and medical centers in the United States and Spain. The research team, led by neurologist Nick Corriivo-Lecavalier, identified the condition and named it: limbic amnestic neurodegenerative syndrome (LANS). The scientists hope their work will ease the burden on healthcare providers caring for patients with various forms of memory loss.
LANS is characterized by a different set of brain changes compared to Alzheimer’s disease and generally progresses more slowly with milder symptoms. This newly identified condition primarily affects individuals over the age of 80.
As with Alzheimer’s disease, a definitive diagnosis can only be made post-mortem.
To assist those suffering from memory loss, the researchers developed an official framework that distinguishes LANS from Alzheimer’s disease.
What the Researchers Reported
“In our clinical work, we have seen patients whose memory impairment symptoms resembled Alzheimer’s disease, but brain scan results or biomarkers indicated that they did not have this condition,” noted senior study author David Jones.
The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and LANS often overlap, leading to frequent confusion between the two, as reported by Science Alert. Sometimes, LANS can even occur simultaneously with Alzheimer’s, further complicating the situation. However, these two conditions are distinct.
By analyzing previous studies on LANS and Alzheimer’s disease, the team identified some key clinical differences in the manifestations of these two forms of dementia.
Patients with LANS typically experience a decline in verbal fluency and episodic memory lapses initially. They lose the ability to recall contextual details, object names, and people’s names. However, their visual-spatial processing tends to remain relatively intact compared to patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Additionally, MRI studies have shown that hippocampal volume loss is more closely associated with LANS than with Alzheimer’s disease, where volume loss typically affects the neocortex. Furthermore, the recently identified condition progresses more slowly and has milder consequences than Alzheimer’s disease.
Deciphering the different mechanisms of dementia is undoubtedly a complex task. However, the research team is committed to continuing their work on classifying forms of dementia.
The study’s findings were published in the journal Brain Communications.