First Proven Diagnostic Test For Alzheimer's

An anonymous reader writes "A test that can confirm or rule out Alzheimer's disease at an early stage has been shown effective by US pathologists. 'With this test, we can reliably detect and track the progression of Alzheimer's disease,' said lead researcher Leslie Shaw with the University of Pennsylvania's Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative in Philadelphia. ... The new test is detailed in the journal Annals of Neurology. It measures the cerebral-spinal fluid concentration of two biochemicals associated with the disease — amyloid beta42 peptide and tau protein."

Comments

spinal tap?

[Dr_Banzai]

This Alzheimer's test goes to 11.

Re:spinal tap?

[kylemonger]

No joke. I think most people when faced with a lumbar puncture would choose to not to know, or to just start taking Aricept blind. A needle in the arm or the ass is bad enough, a needle in the spine is a whole other level of terror.

Guess where I'm taking mom to-morrow

[Anonymous Coward]

After that, the court order...

Re:Guess where I'm taking mom to-morrow

[Anonymous Coward]

then we'll see who"s living in the basement, mother!

I may have Alzheimer's

[Anonymous Coward]

But at least I don't have Alzheimer's.

Re:I may have Alzheimer's

[Doug Neal]

The best thing about Alzheimer's is that you can hide your own easter eggs.

Not april fools

[BlueParrot]

This is not april fools people. Was reported in Swedish media some time ago.

Original article

[aibob]

You can read the abstract of the article in the Annals of Neurology at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122266379/abstract

Fine, we can detect it

[sacremon]

We still don't have a cure for it, so you are just telling the person at present 'Hey, you have Alzheimer's! Good luck with that!". I know, there might be treatments that can take advantage of early detection some time in the future, but at present it would just be pretty depressing.

Re:Fine, we can detect it

[Mr2001]

A diagnostic test is useful for finding a cure, though. When doing research, it helps to know who actually has the disease and be able to measure whether it's getting better or worse.

Re:Fine, we can detect it

[kaaona]

If only we could find a way to bring my dear mother back to her husband and family today. She's living in the world of her teens and 20s, and always angry that no one else thinks it's 1940. She doesn't recognize her two sons, and we miss her terribly. Alzheimer's is the cruelest of diseases.

Nothing about Alzheimer's Disease is funny.

[Anonymous Coward]

Try a little tenderness. The caregiver's bible is 'The 36-Hour Day.' Aricept is unlikely to make any difference. Avoid neuroleptics if at all possible. Try to laugh with, rather than at. Peace

Almost a golden grail in AD research!

[blind biker]

Those who don't have a loved one with suspected Alzheimer's Disease (AD) don't even imagine how important this news is. AD is impossible to accurately decisively diagnose before it's moderate to advanced (before that it's just a non-specific Mild Cognitive Impairment), and even then there will always be doubts. AD is only decisively diagnosed after the death of the patient, when a biopsy of cerebral mass is made. No genetic diagnosis egsists, because there are so many genetic modifications that can lead to AD.

Anyway, this is great news for me, as I do have someone who is suspect to early signs of AD. I hope he can be tested soon.