Posted on 01/14/2010 9:27:15 PM PST by neverdem
Middle-aged could be screened at routine optician's visit
A test that can detect Alzheimer's up to 20 years before any symptoms show is being developed by British scientists.
The simple and inexpensive eye test could be part of routine examinations by high street opticians in as little as three years, allowing those in middle age to be screened.
Dementia experts said it had the power to revolutionise the treatment of Alzheimer's by making it possible for drugs to be given in the earliest stages.
The technique, being pioneered at University College London, could also speed up the development of medication capable of stopping the disease in its tracks, preventing people from ever showing symptoms.
Rebecca Wood, of the Alzheimer's Trust, said: 'These findings have the potential to transform the way we diagnose Alzheimer's, greatly enhancing efforts to develop new treatments.'
Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia blight the lives of 700,000 Britons and their families, and the number of cases is expected to double within a generation.
There is no cure and existing drugs do not work for everyone.
Current diagnosis is based on memory tests, and expensive brain scans are also sometimes used.
However decisive proof of the disease usually comes from examination of the patient's brain after death.
The eye test would provide a quick, easy, cheap and highly-accurate diagnosis...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
FReebie
Will the results be sent to one of the Obama death panels?
“Will the results be sent to one of the Obama death panels?”
No, of course not, because that information will be kept in a DOUBLE SECRET database*, using the best of US Government technology!
*only accessible to you, your doctor, and certain authorized government authorities as required and permitted by authorized government authorities**.
**Mostly the US government, but sometimes the Russians, Chinese, and North Korean governments.
And especially NOT your next of kin should they need the info in an emergency because you somehow missed filling in their name on some horrendously long bureaucratic form!
btrl
TSA Called Out on Full-Body Scanner Storage Capabilities, Health Risks Revealed
(Vanity) A Merck-y Decision, or, Is Pfizer Wiser?
UC Davis research confirms benefits of calcium and vitamin D in preventing fractures
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
ping
So we have a not exactly perfect health care system in America that we are going to scrap because politicians promise to make it better.
Can someone show me a project/program over the last century that government took on and made better?
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