Review confirms early diagnosis tool

February, 2010

A comprehensive survey confirms the value of an early diagnostic tool, and provides strong evidence for the central importance of amyloid-beta protein plaques in the development of Alzheimer’s.

A survey of more than 100 studies involving PIB-PET, a diagnostic tool that involves injecting a radiotracer called Pittsburgh compound B into the brain via the bloodstream, and imaging the brain with positron emission tomography (PET), has confirmed its sensitivity in detecting amyloid-beta protein plaques. The tool is not yet commercially available. The study also provides strong evidence supporting the theory that accumulation of amyloid-beta protein plaques in the brain is central to the development of Alzheimer’s. The findings, that amyloid deposits appear to reach a plateau early in the disease course, may explain why Alzheimer's patients have not responded to promising experimental drugs that target amyloid. It may be that they are being administered too late.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/uoc--nsm020910.php

Reference:

[182] Rabinovici, G. D., & Jagust W. J.
(2009). Amyloid imaging in aging and dementia: Testing the amyloid hypothesis in vivo.
Behavioural Neurology. 21(1), 117 - 128.

seniors

alzheimers-diagnosis

Alzheimers

Related News

Adverse changes in sleep duration associated with cognitive decline in middle-aged adults

From the Whitehall II study, data involving 5431 older participants (45-69 at baseline) has revealed a significant effect of midlife sleep changes on later cognitive function. Sleep duration was assessed at one point between 1997 and 1999, and again between 2002 and 2004.

Brains of those with MCI still flexible and trainable

A training program designed to help older adults with

Why multitasking is more difficult with age

Comparison of young adults (mean age 24.5) and older adults (mean age 69.1) in a visual memory test involving multitasking has pinpointed the greater problems older adults have with multitasking.

Older adults have better implicit memory

A study involving 125 younger (average age 19) and older (average age 69) adults has revealed that while younger adults showed better explicit learning, older adults were better at implicit learning. Implicit memory is our unconscious memory, which influences behavior without our awareness.

More evidence that Alzheimer's disease may be inherited from your mother

A two-year study involving 53 older adults (60+) has found that those with a mother who had Alzheimer's disease had significantly more brain atrophy than those with a father or no parent with Alzheimer's disease.

Hearing loss and dementia linked

Data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging, begun in 1958, has revealed that seniors with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop dementia than those who retain their hearing.

The importance of the cerebellum for intelligence and age-related cognitive decline

Shrinking of the

Drug derived from curcumin may help treat stroke

A new molecular compound derived from curcumin (found in turmeric) holds promise for treating brain damage caused by stroke. Turmeric has a long history of use in Ayurvedic and Chinese traditional medicine.

Metabolic syndrome linked to memory loss in older people

The new label of ‘metabolic syndrome’ applies to those having three or more of the following risk factors: high blood pressure, excess belly fat, higher than normal triglycerides, high blood sugar and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol).

Migraines and headaches linked to more brain lesions in older adults

Lesions of the brain microvessels include white-matter hyperintensities and the much less common silent infarcts leading to loss of white-matter tissue.

Pages