A pair of studies recently released by Stony Brook University in New York suggest that 9/11 first responders face a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other cognitive deterioration.

Researchers presented evidence to the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on July 28 that shows first responders who spent a significant amount of time at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks have brain abnormalities and blood irregularities similar to those in Alzheimer’s patients. Overall, the brain age of the first responders studied was about 10 years older than it should be according to their actual age.

The studies’ authors say the environmental conditions at the site of the terrorist attacks and the post-traumatic stress the first responders suffered are likely contributing to those conditions.

“It is extremely unusual to have these types of abnormalities in people of this age,” Dr. Benjamin  Luft, the senior author of both studies, was quoted by Newsday as saying. “It is unheard of really, or extremely rare, to find these types of abnormalities in the general population.”

Brain Imaging Study Shows Thinning Gray Matter

One of the two studies released was the first to use magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI technology, to map the brains of Ground Zero first responders who are experiencing cognitive impairment symptoms, the university said.

“The goal of this study is to determine if responders in their midlife have developed (cognitive impairment) due to changes in their brain possibly caused by neurotoxins they were exposed to at Ground Zero,” university officials explained in a report posted on the school’s website.

Patients between 45 and 65 years old were examined. At that age, a condition called cortical atrophy – recognized by a thinning of the brain’s gray matter – is rare. The first responders were found to have “significant reductions” in the thickness of their gray matter in seven regions of the brain, the researchers said.

The degree to which the first responders’ brains had shrunk is similar to that found in dementia patients and could indicate early stage dementia in them, according to the study’s lead author, Sean Clouston, PhD.

Clouston said more long-term studies are needed to better understand the cause and effect of the brain changes in the first responders.

Blood Study Indicates Risk of Alzheimer’s

The second of the two studies presented by Stony Brook researchers was focused on an analysis of the 276 types of proteins found in the blood. A total of 181 first responders who had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and mild cognitive impairment participated in the review.

“Each of the identified proteins are instrumental to a range of processes indicative of neurological diseases, cellular regulation, immunology, cardiovascular, inflammatory, developmental and metabolism functions,” the research report said.

The first responders were found to have blood protein irregularities “consistent with” Alzheimer’s disease and other neuropsychiatric conditions.

Researchers Say More Studies Needed

The findings presented are a helpful step in learning about the cognitive impairment some Ground Zero first responders are experiencing, but more studies are needed to understand the cause and effect and how to help the patients, the researchers say.

“The environmental exposures and psychological pressures experienced by responders during 9/11 and its aftermath has had an insidious effect on their health and well-being,” Dr. Luft is quoted in the Stony Brook news report as saying. Nearly 20 years after the terrorist attacks, doctors who treat the first responders “are seeing more patients who are showing signs of cognitive disorders and possible dementia.” The university’s research provides the first hard data to indicate first responders are at higher risk of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain disorders – “a possibility that needs immediate and continued investigation,” Luft said.