Dhaka, Sept. 28 -- MRI scans could help researchers understand how Alzheimer's disease develops years before its better-known markers appear, according to Science News.

Researchers found that people who later developed high levels of amyloid-beta had slightly thicker cortices than those who did not. The differences, measured in hundredths of a millimetre, were visible up to seven years before high amyloid-beta levels were detected through PET scans.

The cortex, the brain's outermost layer, normally becomes thinner with age. However, a study published in Nature Neuroscience found that it thinned more slowly in people who later developed high amyloid-beta levels.

The researchers did not find a link between the early cortical changes and ...