HealthDay (9/23, Norton) reports, “Certain changes in a part of the brain stem, visible in scans, might be a potential early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease,” investigators concluded in a study involving “174 older, mostly cognitively healthy, adults,” all of whom underwent PET imaging and “MRI scans to gauge the ‘integrity’ of the” locus coeruleus. The study revealed that “lesser ‘integrity’ in the brain stem region was linked to a faster decline in memory and thinking in older adults, as well as certain brain changes seen in early Alzheimer’s.” The findings were published online in the journal Science Translational Medicine. (SOURCE: APA Headlines)