9/11 first responders may be at higher risk of early-onset dementia, study finds
NEW YORK — A new study finds that those who responded to the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 may be at higher risk of early-onset dementia.
Researchers at Stony Brook Medicine say they've discovered a link between exposure at Ground Zero and the presence of amyloid in the brain. Amyloid is a protein in the body that can form abnormal deposits, which then build up and are associated with numerous diseases, such as Alzheimer's.
"We're tracking this immune target, this immune protein. We found it in the brain, and it's worse in people who are more severely exposed," said Sean Clouston, the lead author of the study and a professor at Stony Brook University. "We found that it was associated with cognitive function. So the individuals who had more amyloid, especially in some regions of the brain that we've previously linked to cognition, the amyloid in those areas was associated with cognition."
Thirty-five World Trade Center responders participated in the study over the course of three years.
This study is published online in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. It was funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
