Loneliness Could Be Early Sign of Alzheimer’s

Subtle feelings of loneliness experienced by seniors may be an early warning sign of impending Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers examined the relationship between late-life loneliness and Alzheimer’s disease among 43 women and 36 men with no signs of dementia and found that healthy seniors with an elevated brain level of amyloid (a protein fragment has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease) were 7.5 times more likely to feel lonely than those with lower levels of amyloid build-up. The findings suggest that screening lonely seniors could lead to the earlier detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. JAMA Psychiatry, November 2016