In a revealing study, researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences found a potential link between early brain abnormalities associated with Alzheimer's disease and financial vulnerability, especially falling for scams in older individuals. The findings show that people who are more vulnerable to financial fraud may be suffering cognitive alterations caused by this neurodegenerative illness.

Alzheimer's disease now affects almost 7 million Americans, making it the seventh largest cause of mortality among people aged 65 and up. With the disease estimated to cost $360 billion in healthcare costs this year alone, the search for early detection strategies is critical.

Duke Han, a psychology and family medicine professor at USC Dornsife, led the study, which examined the brains of 97 adults aged 52 to 83 with high-powered MRI technology. The study focused on the entorhinal cortex, a brain region that plays an important role in memory and is frequently one of the first to show signs of Alzheimer's disease.

No study participants showed clinical symptoms of cognitive impairment. However, researchers discovered that those more vulnerable to financial fraud had a thinner entorhinal cortex, a brain region that shrinks as Alzheimer's disease progresses.

"Assessing financial vulnerability in older adults could help identify those who are in the early stages of mild cognitive impairment or dementia, including Alzheimer's disease," said Han, who also works at USC's Keck School of Medicine. Han emphasised that while financial vulnerability alone does not provide conclusive evidence of Alzheimer's, it could serve as a component of a comprehensive risk assessment.

The study used the Perceived Financial Exploitation Vulnerability Scale (PFVS) to assess individuals' sensitivity to making poor financial decisions, commonly known as financial exploitation vulnerability (FEV). Participants above 70 had a stronger connection between FEV and a narrower entorhinal cortex.

Despite the study's significant findings, Han acknowledged some limitations. Most participants were elderly, highly educated white women, making it difficult to generalise the findings to other groups. The study also did not directly assess Alzheimer's disease pathology. Han stated that more research, especially long-term trials with diverse individuals, is necessary before we can consider FEV a valid tool for cognitive assessment.