Alzheimer's diseases can be defined as the cancer of the axon in the brain that causes aging,forgetfulness,weakness,apathy,paralysis in advance stage and finally death.
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have developed a
blood test for Alzheimer's disease that predicts with astonishing
accuracy whether a healthy person will develop the disease.
Though much work still needs to be done, it is hoped the test will
someday be available in doctors' offices, since the only methods
for predicting Alzheimer's right now, such as PET scans and spinal
taps, are expensive, impractical, often unreliable and sometimes
risky.
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have developed a
blood test for Alzheimer's disease that predicts with astonishing
accuracy whether a healthy person will develop the disease.
Though much work still needs to be done, it is hoped the test will
someday be available in doctors' offices, since the only methods
for predicting Alzheimer's right now, such as PET scans and spinal
taps, are expensive, impractical, often unreliable and sometimes
risky.
In the beginning, the researchers knew they wanted to find a blood
test to detect Alzheimer's but didn't know what
specifically to look for. Should they examine patients'
DNA? Their RNA? Or should they look for the
byproducts of DNA and RNA, such as fats and
proteins?
They decided to start with fats, since it was the easiest
and least expensive. They drew blood from hundreds
of healthy people over age 70.
Five years later, 28 ofthe seniors had developed Alzheimer's disease or the mild cognitive problems that usually precede it.
Scouring more than 100 fats, or lipids, for what might
set this group apart, they found that these 28 seniors
had low levels of 10 particular lipids, compared with
healthy seniors.
To confirm their findings, the researchers then looked
at the blood of 54 other patients who had Alzheimer's
or mild cognitive impairment. This group also had low
levels of the lipids.
Overall, the blood test predicted who would get
Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment with over
90% accuracy.
The beauty of this test is that it caught
Alzheimer's before the patient even had symptoms, suggesting
that the disease process begins long before people's memories
start failing. He says that perhaps the lipid levels started
decreasing at the same time as brain cells started dying.
People could get a heads up that they were probably destined
to get Alzheimer's. Although some people might not want to know
that they're destined for a horrible disease, others might be
grateful for the warning.
GIST CIRCLE TEAM!!!
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