The study began in the late 60s when blood samples of 1,500 women were taken. The results have just been fully analyzed and compared with w
ho went on to suffer from Alzheimer's later on.
"Alzheimer's disease was more than twice as common among the women with the highest levels of homocysteine than among those with the lowest, and the risk for any kind of dementia was 70 per cent higher," Dr Dimitri Zylberstein, author of the thesis, told the news source.
The results are encouraging because it could offer an effective way to predict Alzheimer's disease before any symptoms of the ailment present themselves.
Homocysteine is important in regulating metabolism, but if there is too much of it, it can cause blood clots and damage blood vessels.
According to the Mayo Clinic, only five percent of people between the ages of 65 and 74 have Alzheimer's disease, but almost have of people over 85 have the mental illness.
© Copyright