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Alzheimer's Plaques Imaged in Living Brains

Posted by timothy on from the dilemma dept.

Yves writes "Japanese scientists have developed a technique to detect traces of Alzheimer's disease (amyloid plaques in the brain) on living mice... Until now, the standard way to confirm the presence of the plaques, and thus the disease, was by autopsy. The question remains: Do you really want to know early that you have Alzheimer disease, as there is no effective treatment yet?"

7 of 61 comments (clear)

  1. Phosphatidylcholine by JPyObjC+Dude · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Take it and you will get better memory and many experts believe that it will prevent Alzheimer's.

    1. Re:Phosphatidylcholine by infonography · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Not quite clear, Phosphatidylcholine is a purified extract from lecithin http://nootropics.com/lecithin/

      "The only statistically significant result was in favour of placebo for adverse events, based on one trial, which appears likely to be a spurious result. "

      However, other results were;

      "Alzheimer's disease sufferers have been found to have a lack of the enzyme responsible for converting choline into acetylcholine within the brain. Lecithin is a major dietary source of choline, so extra consumption may reduce the progression of dementia."

      "The Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group's Specialized Register was searched on 15 May 2002 using the terms lecithin and phosphaditylcholine."

      --
      Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
  2. Re:Want to know? by Ayaress · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The article's got a slight innaccuracy. There are effective treatments, just no cure. However, some of the treatments are excellent, and can delay the onset of the disease and substantially slow it once it does show up. My great-grandmother was diagnosed with the disease seven years ago, but is still living a perfectly normal life for somebody her age. She worries far more about high blood pressure than Alzheimers.

  3. Re:Want to know? by sakusha · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The bigger question is, do you want your insurance company to know early if you have Alzheimer's? Because they WILL know if you get tested. Forget about ever getting health insurance again if you switch jobs.

  4. Re:Want to know? by Murphy+Murph · · Score: 3, Interesting
    The bigger question is, do you want your insurance company to know early if you have Alzheimer's? Because they WILL know if you get tested. Forget about ever getting health insurance again if you switch jobs.

    My Primary Care Physician has offered many tests to me "under the table" for that very reason.
    --
    I dub thee... Sir Phobos, Knight of Mars, Beater of Ass.
  5. Re:Want to know? by orangesquid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hell yes I'd like to know. It'd be the perfect time to write memoirs; to recount over my life, make sure I've told the stories I want to tell, and get ready to just have fun for the rest of my life.

    Even if I lose the memories inside my head, I'll have them recorded, so they won't be gone.

    It's like knowing when you're going to die, except, it's knowing when a certain part of you is going to die.

    --
    --TheOrangeSquid Is it any wonder things seem so awry? We swim in a sea of confusion and don't have to think to survive
  6. Already done.... by lunadog · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The actual novelty of this story is that the plaques are being imaged with MRI using a probe rather than SPET or PET using a probe. Both SPET and PET imaging of amaloid plaques has been possible for several years...

    Yawn.