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Spinal-Fluid Test Confirmed To Predict Alzheimer's
omnibit writes "The New York Times reports that researchers have found a spinal-fluid test can be 100 percent accurate in identifying patients with significant memory loss who are on their way to developing Alzheimer's disease. The new study included more than 300 patients in their seventies, 114 with normal memories, 200 with memory problems, and 102 with Alzheimer's disease. Their spinal fluid was analyzed for amyloid beta, which forms plaques in the brain, and for tau, another protein that accumulates in dead and dying nerve cells in the brain. Nearly every person with Alzheimer's had the characteristic spinal fluid protein levels."
Yeah... too bad it's a spinal fluid test. Those are nasty. My spouse had one and the hole in the dura refused to close, which is apparently a fairly common side effect. Net result: unbearable, nonstop, over-10-on-a-1-to-10-scale headaches that can't be controlled with headache medicine. Caffeine on an IV drip works, but only temporarily. The headaches lasted for weeks until the doctors finally managed to close the hole with a blood clot. The clot doesn't actually fix the problem, but the dura managed to repair itself while the clot held. I've heard of people, however, who *never* healed from it. What a miserable experience.
"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Gandhi
So, just to clarify, this test "can be 100% accurate", while at the same time "Nearly every person with Alzheimer's had the characteristic spinal fluid protein levels."
That's a pretty neat trick.
Alphanos
I'd heard years ago that there was dispute between researchers who thought the disease was caused by "beta amyloid plaques" versus by this "tau" protein. Does the test for both show that there's still no consensus on the cause, or has one been established as the cause and the other an effect?
Revive the Constitution.
That happens, but it is rare. But because of the potential numbers of people who would want the test, the difficulty of doing a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) on persons who have arthritis in the back (very common among us ancient folk), are of the supersized persuasion, or have other reasons to dissuade themselves, I don't think this is going to be the ultimate test.
Instead it will serve as a proxy to allow simpler tests to be developed. TFA also notes that PET scans are fairly accurate. These are available at many larger medical centers but are also pretty pricey and technically complex.
This is also not the first time that lumbar punctures for beta amyloid have been used to diagnose Alzheimer's. And finally, the abstract of the original article for your viewing pleasure.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Not only does this give an actual test for Alzheimers, it also means that there's a definitive symptom for it. Wipe out the cause of that symptom and maybe you can stop or reverse the progression of this horrible affliction.
My father is already at the moderate dementia stage of this illness, and it's devastating. Not so much for him as it is for my mother.
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
The spinal needle goes up to 11 (inches).
___
If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
There's no treatment for it and nothing they can do. I'd rather not know for as long as possible, you start going crazy as you watch yourself deteriorating every day. If I forget and put door keys in the microwave I think "oh I'm such an idiot." and laugh. I don't feel the terror that someone with Alzheimers feels, thinking every mistake is a sign.
it's under construction
Yup my Dad had that done and he said it was the most painful thing he'd ever had happen... and this was a guy who grew up on a farm (a great source of pain), served years in combat during WWII and so on and so, on without ever raising a complaint.
The next time he had to go in was because of a disc problem and they essentially injected his spine with meat tenderizer to dissolve the ruptured disk away. He said compared to the spinal tap that didn't hurt at all (except for the nurse yanking his boxers off without first checking for protrusions - yikes!).
The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny - Aesop
I'm gonna be honest with you, that smells like pure gasoline
Amyloid beta was there and it was targetable by the methodology available to drugs companies. Now, they've discovered it doesn't work, and there's a few years of lag time between findings synchronising. I don't think there are any more gamma-sec or beta-sec programs in drug discovery. Let's just hope there's another target around.
I am one of many. My idea is not unique, nor do I expect my voice alone to sway you. I speak in a chorus of opinion.
Only 100% accurate? Given the necessity for a spinal tap it should go to 110%.
In her early onset of Alzheimer's, I used to say shocking things about my life to my Grandmother. She'd be surprised, righteously indignant, and secretly curious. She'd ask all sorts of questions. Fifteen minutes later, we'd do it all again.
When I left from these visits, she'd be absolutely glowing. She'd be awake, excited, and extremely happy. And she had no idea what happened. Next time in, I could make the shocking revelations again with the same effect.
The ______ Agenda
If I had points I'd bump you to 6.
Man visits his doctor.
... spinal fluid indicates ... Alzheimers."
Man: "What's the news, Doc."
Doc: "Not so good. Test results show cancer, and
Man: "... Well, at least I don't have cancer."
If you have ever had the misfortune of having a relative with Alzheimer disease, you know they are nothing like the person you loved and cherished. Everything from forgetfulness, to wanderings where you search the streets for them, to the extreme mood swings where they get violent. Its a terrible experience for both you and the people that have this disease.
If you are diagnosed with this disease in advance, and there are no cures? How do you tell your family and friends? What are you going to think about the pain you know that you may be putting them in?
Knowing how my mother became with this disease, if I find out that I have it and there are no cures. I don't want to put my friends and family through the same experience. I would rather drive my car into a wall at 120 miles an hour.
Just my perception, sorry.
Anonymous comments are as pathetic as the anonymous "sources" that contaminate gutless journalism from the New York Time
The debilitating headache is not rare; it occurs in a third of all cases and normally lasts 24-48 hours. What's rare is when it lasts a year or more. Somewhere in-between is my spouse's case, which lasted a couple weeks and took medical remediation.
"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Gandhi
I've never had meat tenderiser shot up my back, but I've had two lumbar punctures. The first one wasn't too bad, the second one was almighty awful.
The only thing I underwent that hurt more was after a fight (I was doing street photography and was attacked by a bunch of youth), I had a corneal abrasion on my left eye. My understanding of it is that there was a small hole, gap, or something, on the outer layer of my eye, against which my eyelid rests. I had this small gap dead centre in front of my iris (or whatever you look through is called).
You may not be aware of this, but your eyes move constantly, and having a little gap in what used to be the smooth surface of your eye means that with every tiny movement of your eye, there's friction. I didn't notice anything after the fight, however, the next morning, I woke up around 5AM and was effectively blind (I couldn't open the other eye, as that would cause my other eye to try and open too). For the next two days, I was blind, not because my eyes were unable to see, but because the pain was unbearable. At the hospital, I was given a topical anaesthetic, which removed any trace of pain. That nurse became my new best friend. Though, what it didn't remove was the massive photophobia I was suffering from.
Photophobia is a very disturbing phenomenon. We aren't used to having our eyes not adapt to the available light. No matter where I went, everything was overexposed. I couldn't read anything written on white paper (too bright), they had to switch off all the lights in the exam room for me to get the eyesight test done.
Luckily, just over a week after the incident any discomfort was gone, I still had problems focusing (which lasted for about a month), and dry eyes (fake eyedrops are a godsend), and photophobia remained for about 3 months, in a lesser extent than previously. And using sunglasses when reading your email doesn't make you look cool, it just makes you look stupid.
Being an avid photographer, I was shell-shocked that my eyesight was so fragile, and that even though the pain withdrew relatively quickly, being blind for a couple of days really made me very, very humble towards people who have live with that handicap on a daily basis.
Makes you think, of all the senses we have (hearing, vision, smell, touch, and some might even argue that memory is a sense as well), which one would you choose to lose if you had to? We take a lot of things for granted, our body, and our most basic senses that make up the experience of self. If you couldn't remember the experiences that made you 'you', would you still be 'you'? Would you still be yourself if you couldn't see, or hear?
How I love Slashdot summaries.