Having missing teeth or gum disease before the age of 35 may be linked to a fourfold risk of getting Alzheimer's disease when you are older, according to new research. Dr Margaret Gatz* explained that it was probably not gum disease in itself which led to Alzheimer's. Gum disease was probably a symptom of chronic inflammatory disease in the body.

Margaret was addressing the 2005 US Alzheimer's Association First International Conference on Prevention of Dementia.

* Professor of psychology in the University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

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Scientists from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (US) have developed a new early detection test for Alzheimer's disease which is a million times more sensitive than existing tests. Using magnetic and golden nanoparticles, the team were able to detect the concentrations of a brain protein called amyloid-beta-derived diffusible ligand (ADDL) in patients' cerebrospinal fluid. The higher the severity of Alzheimer's, the higher the ADDL concentration.

It is hoped to develop similar 'bio-barcode assays' for the early detection of other diseases.

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Substances called flavan-3-ols in cocoa, wine, green tea and some fruits appear to protect cells against damage from a protein called amyloid-ß. Amyloid-ß is thought to be a major factor in brain disorders like Alzheimer's. It was an 'in vitro' study (using cell cultures in a petri dish or test tube) but other studies have suggested that the same thing happens 'in vivo' (a living human body).

Cocoa extract is the richest source of the flavan-3-ols found to be beneficial, epicatechin and catechin. When these were isolated from cocoa extract and used 'neat' in the study, they protected cells better than natural cocoa extact.

Amyloid-ß protein is an important constituent of the senile plaques typically found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. Excess levels appear to trigger the production on free radicals, which in turn leads to higher production of amyloid-ß in a vicious circle ending in nerve malfunction and ultimately nerve death.