Posted on 03/16/2009 10:07:33 PM PDT by george76
A new test can accurately detect Alzheimer's disease in its earliest stages, before dementia symptoms surface and widespread damage occurs, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
The test, which measures proteins in spinal fluid that can point to Alzheimer's, was 87 percent accurate at predicting which patients with early memory problems and other symptoms of cognitive impairment would eventually be diagnosed with Alzheimer's, they said.
"With this test, we can reliably detect and track the progression of Alzheimer's disease," said Leslie Shaw of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, whose study appears in the Annals of Neurology.
Such tests, which look for so-called biomarkers of disease, can help researchers better focus trials of Alzheimer's treatments, Shaw said.
The test may also lead to better strategies to keep mild memory impairments from progressing into full-blown Alzheimer's disease, a fatal, mind-robbing ailment that is the most common form of dementia in the elderly, he added.
Many teams have been seeking ways to diagnose Alzheimer's in its early stages, which would allow doctors to give people drugs aimed at slowing the disease.
Shaw and colleagues set out to create a standardized test that focuses on levels of two classic hallmarks of Alzheimer's in the brain: amyloid beta protein, which forms sticky brain plaques, and abnormal levels of the protein tau, which forms fibrous tangles in the brain.
"What we are measuring is the amount of the tau protein and the concentration of the amyloid beta42 polypeptide,"
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
This test is good because?
Until they have a good treatment, everyone would rather not know.
.
Until they have a good treatment, everyone would rather not know.
There are treatments that can slow down the progress of the disease. The earlier it is detected, the earlier the treatments can begin assuming the studies show benefits from early treatment.
the concentration of the amyloid beta42 polypeptide
Expert: Michael Savage
available at: http://www.michaelsavage.com
and what to do with the information?......
and to date, there is not a cure for Alzheimers....even the drugs that are used are borderline effective....
we will never be able to protect ourselves from all diseases, all our lives.....
ping
Agreed. Spinal taps are a very dangerous procedure in the wrong hands.
There are treatments
Namenda, Aricept
Why?
We have no real treatment for this terrible disease.
Yeah, well, the waitress should have taken it back.
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