alzheimers-diagnosis

New retinal test for early Alzheimer's disease

  • A new test can quickly detect reduced blood capillaries in the back of the eye that are an early indication of Alzheimer's, and shows that it can help distinguish Alzheimer's from MCI.

A study has shown new technology can quickly and non-invasively detect reduced blood capillaries in the back of the eye that are an early indication of Alzheimer's. It also shows that these signs can help distinguish between Alzheimer's and MCI.

The study compared the retinas of 39 Alzheimer's patients, 37 people with MCI, and 133 cognitively healthy people. The Alzheimer's group had loss of small retinal blood vessels at the back of the eye and a specific layer of the retina was thinner when compared to people with MCI and healthy people. The differences in density were statistically significant after researchers controlled for factors including age and sex.

It's been known that patients with Alzheimer's had decreased retinal blood flow and vessel density but it had not been known if these changes were also present in individuals with early Alzheimer's or aMCI.

Larger datasets are required to validate the marker.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-04/nu-ere040519.php

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-03/aaoo-nss030719.php

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Brain changes linked with Alzheimer's years before symptoms appear

  • A long-running study found subtle cognitive deficits evident 11-15 years before clear impairment, as were changes in tau protein.

A very long-running study involving 290 people at risk of Alzheimer's has found that, in those 81 people who developed MCI or dementia, subtle changes in cognitive test scores were evident 11 to 15 years before the onset of clear cognitive impairment. They also showed increases in the rate of change of tau protein in cerebrospinal fluid an average of 34.4 years (for t-tau, or total Tau) and 13 years (for a modified version called p-tau) before the beginning of cognitive impairment.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/jhm-bcl051419.php

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Smell tests provide early evidence of dementia

  • It seems clear now that a substantial decline in sense of smell is a very early sign of developing MCI and Alzheimer's.
  • Several tests have been developed to assess this.
  • It should always be remembered that there is substantial difference between individuals in their 'natural' sense of smell, and this needs to be taken into account in any test.

In the past few months, several studies have come out showing the value of three different tests of people's sense of smell for improving the accuracy of MCI and Alzheimer's diagnosis, or pointing to increased risk. The studies also add to growing evidence that a decline in sense of smell is an early marker for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s. Indeed, it appears that this sensory loss is a very early symptom, preceding even the shrinking of the entorhinal cortex (the first brain region to show signs of atrophy).

Smell test improves accuracy of MCI & Alzheimer's diagnosis

A simple, commercially available test known as the Sniffin' Sticks Odor Identification Test, in which subjects must try to identify 16 different odors, was given to 728 older adults, as well as a standard cognitive test (the Montreal Cognitive Assessment).

The participants had already been evaluated by doctors and classified as being healthy (292 subjects), having MCI (174: 150 aMCI, 24 naMCI), or having Alzheimer's (262).

It was found that, while the cognitive test alone correctly classified 75% of people with MCI, the number rose to 87% when the sniff test results were added. Diagnosis of Alzheimer's, and of subtypes within MCI, was also improved.

The smell test normally takes 5 to 8 minutes to administer; the researchers are trying to get it down to 3 minutes, to encourage greater use.

A new smell test

Another recent study validates a new smell test which is rather more complicated. The test was developed because the standard University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test doesn’t take into account the great variation in olfactory ability among healthy individuals. The ability of normal individuals to recognize and discriminate between odors can vary by as much as 40 times!

The new test is actually four tests:

  • In the OPID (Odor Percept IDentification)-10 test, participants are presented with 10 odors (menthol, clove, leather, strawberry, lilac, pineapple, smoke, soap, grape, lemon) for two seconds each. They are then asked whether the scent is familiar and given a choice of four of the 10 words from which are asked to pick the best one that describes the odor.
  • The Odor Awareness Scale (OAS) assesses their overall attention to environmental odors and how they are affected emotionally and behaviorally by scents.
  • The OPID-20 test includes an additional 10 odors (banana, garlic, cherry, baby powder, grass, fruit punch, peach, chocolate, dirt, orange). Participants are first asked whether a presented odor was included in the OPID-10 test and then asked which word best describes the odor. Their ability to remember odors from the first test determines their POEM (Percepts of Odor Episodic Memory) score.
  • In the Odor Discrimination (OD) test, participants are presented with two consecutive odors and asked whether they were different or the same, a process that is repeated 12 times with different paired scents.

The study involved 183 older adults, of whom 70 were cognitively normal, 74 tested normal but were concerned about their cognitive abilities, 29 had MCI and 10 had been diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease.

Results of the OPID-20 test significantly differentiated among the four groups of participants, and those results correlated with the thinning of the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex. Participants' ability to remember a previously presented aroma, as reflected in the POEM score, was also significant, with participants with Alzheimer's disease performing at no better than chance.

POEM scores of the two cognitively normal groups were compared with what would have been predicted based on their ability to identify and differentiate between odors, as reflected in the OAS and OD tests. Poor POEM performers were more likely to have the ‘Alzheimer's gene’ (APOEe4), showed thinning of the entorhinal cortex, and poorer cognitive performance over time.

Validation of UPSIT

However, two 2016 studies support the use of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), and suggest it may offer a practical, low-cost alternative to other tests.

In one study, UPSIT was administered to 397 older adults (average age 80) without dementia, who were also given an MRI scan to measure the thickness of the entorhinal cortex (the first brain region to be affected by Alzheimer's disease). After four years, 50 participants (12.6%) had developed dementia, and nearly 20% had signs of cognitive decline.

Low UPSIT scores, but not entorhinal cortical thickness, were significantly associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and with cognitive impairment. Entorhinal cortical thickness was significantly associated with UPSIT score in those who transitioned from MCI to dementia.

In other words, it looks like impairment in odor identification precedes thinning in the entorhinal cortex.

In another study, UPSIT was administered to 84 older adults, of whom 58 had MCI, as well as either beta amyloid PET scanning or analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. After six months, 67% had signs of memory decline, and this was predicted by amyloid-beta levels (assessed by either method), but not UPSIT score. However, participants with a score of less than 35 were more than three times as likely to have memory decline as those with higher UPSIT scores.

The researchers suggest the association wasn’t as strong in this study because of the younger age of participants (median age 71), their higher education, and the short follow-up.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-12/uops-psc122016.php

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-11/mgh-atr111416.php

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/cumc-stm072516.php

Reference: 

[4209] Quarmley, M., Moberg P. J., Mechanic-Hamilton D., Kabadi S., Arnold S. E., Wolk D. A., et al.
(2017).  Odor Identification Screening Improves Diagnostic Classification in Incipient Alzheimer’s Disease.
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 55(4), 1497 - 1507.

[4210] Dhilla, A. Alefiya, Asafu-Adjei J., Delaney M. K., Kelly K. E., Gomez-Isla T., Blacker D., et al.
(2016).  Episodic memory of odors stratifies Alzheimer biomarkers in normal elderly.
Annals of Neurology. 80(6), 846 - 857.

Lee, Seonjoo et al. 2016. Predictive Utility of Entorhinal Cortex Thinning and Odor Identification Test for Transition to Dementia and Cognitive Decline in an Urban Community Population. Presented at the Alzheimer's Association's International Conference in Toronto.

Kreisl, William et al. 2016. Both Odor Identification and Amyloid Status Predict Memory Decline in Older Adults. Presented at the Alzheimer's Association's International Conference in Toronto.

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Diagnosing MCI at home

  • A Greek pilot study has shown that a self-administered cognitive training game can detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Following on from a previous study showing that such a virtual supermarket game administered by a trained professional can detect MCI, a small study used a modified Virtual SuperMarket Remote Assessment Routine (VSM-RAR) that was self-administered by the patient at home on their own, for a period of one month.

Using the average score over 20 assessments, the game correctly diagnosed MCI 91.8% of the time, a level of diagnostic accuracy similar to the most accurate standardized neuropsychological tests.

The study involved six patients with MCI and six healthy older adults.The level of diagnostic accuracy was better using the average score than in the previous study in which only a single score was used.

A tablet PC was provided to the participants, on which to play the game.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/ip-mci022317.php

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Cognitive Tests

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

Effective new cognitive screening test for detection of Alzheimer's

A new cognitive test for detecting Alzheimer's has been developed, and designed to be suitable for non-specialist use. The TYM ("test your memory") involves 10 tasks including ability to copy a sentence, semantic knowledge, calculation, verbal fluency and recall ability. It has been tested on 540 healthy individuals and 139 patients with diagnosed Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment. Healthy controls completed the test in an average time of five minutes and gained an average score of 47 out of 50, compared to 45 for those with mild cognitive impairment, 39 for those with non-Alzheimer dementias and 33 for those with Alzheimer’s. Among controls, the average score was not affected by age until after 70, when it showed a small decline. There were no gender or geographical background differences in performance. The TYM detected 93% of patients with Alzheimer's, compared to only 52% by the widely used mini-mental state examination.

Brown, J. et al. 2009. Self administered cognitive screening test (TYM) for detection of Alzheimer’s disease: cross sectional study. BMJ, 338:b2030, doi: 10.1136/bmj.b2030
Full text available here.

Early identification of dementia increasingly difficult

A study comparing nondemented 70-year-olds examined in the early 1970s with nondemented 70-year-olds examined in the year 2000 has revealed that those who were examined in 2000 scored much higher on non-memory cognitive tests than those examined 30 years earlier — indicating that such tests can no longer be used to predict future dementia. Moreover, although memory loss was a predictor for later development of dementia, it wasn’t conclusive —not everybody with poor memory developed dementia. This was particularly true of the very old (85 year olds).

Sacuiu, S.F. 2009. Prodromal Cognitive Signs of Dementia. Doctoral thesis from Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. http://gupea.ub.gu.se/dspace/handle/2077/19395

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/uog-eio_1052009.php

Degree of test variability improves dementia diagnosis

A study of nearly 900 older adults has found that the degree of variability in performance across neuropsychological tests, measured within a person, improved the prediction of dementia above and beyond one's level of performance on each test alone.

Holtzer, R. et al. 2008. Within-Person Across-Neuropsychological Test Variability and Incident Dementia. JAMA, 300(7), 823-830.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/aeco-set081908.php

New criterion may improve identification of dementia risk in highly educated older adults

A shift in the cutoff point on the widely used cognitive screening tool, the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), is suggested for highly educated older adults, in order to more effectively assess the risk of dementia.

Bryant, S.E. et al. 2008. Detecting Dementia With the Mini-Mental State Examination in Highly Educated Individuals. Archives of Neurology, 65 (7), 963-967.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/jaaj-ncm071008.php

New 'everyday cognition' scale tracks how older adults function in daily life

A new, carefully validated questionnaire called Everyday Cognition (ECog) has been developed by seven psychologists. The 39-question screening tool is designed to enable mild functional problems in older adults to be quickly and easily identified. The questionnaire needs to be filled out by someone who knows an older adult well, such as a spouse, adult child, or close friend. It looks at everyday function in seven key cognitive domains: memory, language, semantic (factual) knowledge, visuospatial abilities, planning, organization and divided attention. The test has been shown to be sensitive to early changes present in Mild Cognitive Impairment, and unlike other cognitive tests, does not appear to be strongly influenced by education level. The test even differentiated between people diagnosed with mild impairment in memory only and those mildly impaired in several areas.

Farias, S.T. et al. 2008. The Measurement of Everyday Cognition (ECog): Scale Development and Psychometric Properties. Neuropsychology, 22 ( 4), 531-544.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/apa-nc062408.php

Simple test predicts 6-year risk of dementia

A 14-point index combining medical history, cognitive testing, and physical examination — a simple test that can be given by any physician — has been found to predict a person’s risk for developing dementia within six years with 87% accuracy. As measured by the index, the risk factors for developing dementia are an age of 70 or older, poor scores on two simple cognitive tests, slow physical functioning on everyday tasks such as buttoning a shirt or walking 15 feet, a history of coronary artery bypass surgery, a body mass index of less than 18, and current non-consumption of alcohol. The results do need to be validated in other populations — for example, they have not yet been tested on Hispanics or Asian-Americans.

The tests were described in a presentation at the 2007 International Conference on Prevention of Dementia, in Washington, DC.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/uoc--stp060707.php

Personality changes may help detect Lewy bodies dementia

Dementia with Lewy bodies is the second most common neurodegenerative cause of dementia. It shares characteristics with both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, but some medications used to treat Alzheimer's patients are potentially dangerous for people with dementia with Lewy bodies. Early diagnosis is therefore important. A new study has found that people with dementia with Lewy bodies often display passive personality changes some time before cognitive deficits are evident, offering hope that a simple personality test might help diagnosis.

Galvin, J.E., Malcom, H., Johnson, D. & Morris, J.C. 2007. Personality traits distinguishing dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer disease. Neurology, 68, 1895-1901.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/aaon-pcm052107.php

New dementia screening tool detects early cognitive problems

A new screening tool for dementia — the Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination (SLUMS) — appears to work better in identifying mild cognitive problems in the elderly than the commonly used Mini Mental Status Examination — particularly for the more educated patients. It takes a clinician about seven minutes to administer the SLUMS, which supplements the Mini Mental Status Examination by asking patients to perform tasks such as doing simple math computations, naming animals, recalling facts and drawing the hands on a clock. The SLUMS is available at this link http://medschool.slu.edu/agingsuccessfully/pdfsurveys/slumsexam_05.pdf

Tariq, S.H. et al. 2006. Comparison of the Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination and the Mini-Mental State Examination for Detecting Dementia and Mild Neurocognitive Disorder—A Pilot Study. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 900-910.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-11/slu-nds103006.php

More sensitive tests for predicting Alzheimer's

The first study used data from 119 participants in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. The memory test scores of those who two years later developed Alzheimer's were compared with the scores of those who stayed healthy. Three tests were very good at predicting who would later develop Alzheimer's: a Paired-Associate Learning Test, which cued participants to recall five semantically related and five semantically unrelated pairs of words; a Perceptual Identification Task, which measured how fast participants read aloud words briefly presented on a computer screen; a Visual Association Test, which cued participants to recall six line drawings of common objects that had been presented earlier in an illogical interaction with another object or cue. On the word-pair memory test, people destined to develop Alzheimer's disease didn't do any better when words were related than when they weren't, suggesting they’d already lost deep semantic knowledge. On the word-reading test, word repetition didn't help high-risk participants to perform better, a sign that implicit learning was impaired. The popular Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE), a test mainly sensitive to episodic memory, was not as good a predictor.
In the second study, a dichotic listening task, which measures how well people process information when they hear one thing in the left ear and another in the right ear, was found to also be predictive of Alzheimer’s, confirming that people have problems with selective attention very early in the disease.

Spaan, P.E.J., Raaijmakers, J.G.W. & Jonker, C. 2005. Early Assessment of Dementia: The Contribution of Different Memory Components. Neuropsychology, 19 (5).

Duchek, J.M. & Balota, D.A. 2005. Failure to Control Prepotent Pathways in Early Stage Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type: Evidence from Dichotic Listening. Neuropsychology, 19 (5).

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/apa-pfm092105.php

Early warning signs of Alzheimer's show up years before official diagnosis

A meta-analysis of 47 studies of Alzheimer's disease has revealed that people can show early warning signs across several cognitive domains years before they are officially diagnosed, confirming that Alzheimer's causes general deterioration and tends to follow a stable preclinical stage with a sharp drop in function. People at the preclinical stage showed marked preclinical deficits in global cognitive ability, episodic memory, perceptual speed, and executive functioning; along with somewhat smaller deficits in verbal ability, visuospatial skill, and attention. There was no preclinical impairment in primary memory. There is no clear qualitative difference between the normal 75-year old and a preclinical Alzheimer’s sufferer; instead it seems that the normal elderly person, the preclinical Alzheimer’s person, and the early clinical Alzheimer’s patient represent three instances on a continuum of cognitive capabilities.

Bäckman, L., Jones, S., Berger, A-K. & Laukka, E.J. 2005. Cognitive impairment in preclinical Alzheimer's disease: A meta-analysis. Neuropsychology, 19 (4).

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-07/apa-ews072505.php

More sensitive test norms better predict who might develop Alzheimer's disease

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's is becoming more important with new medical and psychological interventions that can slow (but not stop) the course of the disease. Given this, it is suggested that more sensitive testing may be necessary for highly intelligent people, who, on average, show clinical signs of Alzheimer's later than the general population. Once they show such signs, they decline much faster. A study of 42 older people with IQ's of 120 or more, used two different test norms to forecast problems: the standard norm, derived from a large cross-section of the population, or an adjusted high-IQ norm that measured changes against the individual's higher ability level. The raised cutoffs predicted that 11 of the 42 individuals were at risk for future decline – compared with standard cutoffs, which indicated they were normal. True to the former prediction, three and a half years later, nine of those 11 people had declined. Six of those went on to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a transitional illness from normal aging to a dementia (of which one type is Alzheimer's). Five of these individuals have since received a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, two years after this study was submitted. It is also suggested that, at the other end of the scale, those with below-average intelligence have the potential for being misdiagnosed as 'demented' when they are not, and the norms should be adjusted downwards accordingly.

Rentz, D.M., Huh, T.J., Faust, R.R., Budson, A.E., Scinto, L.F.M., Sperling, R.A. & Daffner, K.R. 2004. Use of IQ-Adjusted Norms to Predict Progressive Cognitive Decline in Highly Intelligent Older Individuals. Neuropsychology, 18 (1).

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/apa-mst122903.php

New method of distinguishing Alzheimer's from Lewy body dementia

Looking at specific changes in alertness and cognition may provide a reliable method for distinguishing Alzheimer's from dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and normal aging. Four characteristics significantly distinguished patients with DLB from persons with Alzheimer’s and normal elderly controls: daytime drowsiness and lethargy despite getting enough sleep the night before; falling asleep two or more hours during the day; staring into space for long periods and episodes of disorganized speech. "For the normal elderly control group, one or two of these behaviors was found in only 11 percent of the group. For the patients with AD, one or two of these behaviors were not uncommon, but over 63% of the patients with DLB had three or four of these behaviors.” DLB accounts for as much as 20 to 35% of the dementia seen in the United States.

Ferman, T.J., Smith, G.E., Boeve, B.F., Ivnik, R.J., Petersen, R.C., Knopman, D., Graff-Radford, N., Parisi, J. & Dickson, D.W. 2004. DLB fluctuations: Specific features that reliably differentiate DLB from AD and normal aging. Neurology, 62,181-187.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/ama-nmo010804.php

Brief telephone questionnaire screens for early signs of dementia

Researchers have developed a brief telephonic questionnaire that helps distinguish between persons with early signs of dementia and persons with normal cognitive function. The questionnaire provides a way to reach out to persons with dementia whose impairment otherwise may go undetected until substantial cognitive deterioration has occurred. The questionnaire consists of a test of delayed recall and 2 questions that ask whether the person needs help with remembering to take medications or with planning a trip for errands. It is estimated that of 100 people who score positive on this test, 42 will actually have cognitive impairment. In other words, this does not provide a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, but provides evidence that further evaluation is required. The rate of false positives compares favorably to other types of screening tests. A further study is underway to confirm the validity and reliability of the test.

Fillit, H. et al. 2003. A Brief Telephonic Instrument to Screen for Cognitive Impairment in a Managed Care Population. Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management, , 419-429.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-09/twc-btq091603.php

Verbal memory tests predict dementia

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam tested the memories of a large group of elderly people on two occasions, two years apart. Performance on the memory tests was then compared between those who developed dementia during those two years and those who did not. It was found that those who later were found to have dementia were scarcely better at remembering word pairs clearly linked in meaning (for example, pipe - cigar) than word pairs without such a link (for example nail - butter), on the first test. (those who not have dementia two years later did, as is usual, benefit from such a link in meaning). In addition, those in the early stage of dementia did not benefit from the repeated presentation of words. The results suggest a means by which elderly people in the early stages of dementia can be identified, which is important because the drugs used to inhibit dementia only work in the earliest stages of the disease.

This was revealed in doctoral research by the neuropsychologist Pauline Spaan from the University of Amsterdam.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-01/nofs-mtp012403.php

Verbal memory test best indicator of who will have Alzheimer's disease

A meta-analysis of 31 studies involving a total of 1,144 Alzheimer's patients and 6,046 healthy controls, supports the use of the California Verbal Learning Test in predicting future Alzheimer’s type dementia. Long delay recall and percent recall were the best predictors, with executive function type measures also being predictive but less so than both the long and short delay memory tests. Changes in the hippocampus were the best volumetric or neuroimaging measure but in general volumetric measures were less sensitive to preclinical stages of the dementia than were the neuropsychological tests. It should be noted that a decline in various types of memory, especially verbal episodic memory, is also observable in normal elderly; the crucial factor in determining a pre-dementia state lies in the size of the memory deficit.

Zakzanis, K.K. & Boulos, M.I. 2002. A Meta-Analysis of ApoE Genotype and Neuropsychologic and Neuroanatomic Changes in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease. Presentation at the 110th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) on August 25.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-08/apa-vmt081302.php

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's

An analysis of data from 40 participants enrolled in a long-term study at the UCSD Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) found that "paper-and-pencil" cognitive skills tests administered to normal subjects averaging 75 years of age contained early signs of cognitive decline in those subjects who later developed Alzheimer’s disease. All participants were symptom-free when they took the test. The differences were quite subtle - only some performance measures were affected.

Jacobson MW, Delis DC, Bondi MW, Salmon DP. Do neuropsychological tests detect preclinical Alzheimer's disease: Individual-test versus cognitive-discrepancy score analyses. Neuropsychology. 2002;16(2):132–139.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-04/uoc--trs040502.php

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Early Markers

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

Measuring brain atrophy in patients with mild cognitive impairment

A study involving 269 patients with mild cognitive impairment provides evidence that a fully automated procedure called Volumetric MRI (that can be done in a clinical setting) can accurately and quickly measure parts of the medial temporal lobe and compare them to expected size. It also found that not only atrophy in the hippocampus but also the amygdala is associated with a greater risk of conversion to Alzheimer’s.

Kovacevic, S. et al. 2009. High-throughput, Fully Automated Volumetry for Prediction of MMSE and CDR Decline in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 23 (2), 139-145.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/uoc--mba061609.php

Cerebrospinal fluid shows Alzheimer's disease deterioration much earlier

A study involving 60 patients with subjective cognitive impairment, 37 patients with non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and 71 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, has found that 52% of those with SCI, 68% of those with naMCI, and 79% of those with aMCI showed decreased concentrations of Aβ42 and increased concentrations of tau protein in the cerebrospinal fluid. The findings confirm the use of biomarkers in the CSF for very early diagnosis

Visser, P.J. et al. 2009. Prevalence and prognostic value of CSF markers of Alzheimer's disease pathology in patients with subjective cognitive impairment and mild cognitive impairment in the DESCRIPA study: a prospective, case-control study. The Lancet Neurology, 8 (7), 619–627.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/uog-cfs061809.php

Weight loss in old age may signal dementia

An 8-year study involving over 1,800 older Japanese Americans has found that those with lower body mass index (BMI) scores at the beginning of the study were 79% more likely to develop dementia than those with higher scores. In addition, those who lost weight over the study period at a faster rate were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than those who lost weight more slowly, and this association was stronger in those who were overweight or obese to start.

Hughes, T.F. et al. 2009. Association between late-life body mass index and dementia: The Kame Project. Neurology, 72, 1741-1746.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/aaon-wli051209.php

New tool can help predict Alzheimer's risks

A new 15-point scale of risk factors for Alzheimer's has been developed and correctly classified 88% of the 3,375 older adults in the study. 56% of those with scores of 8 or higher developed dementia within six years, compared to 23% with moderate scores and just 4% with low scores. The risk factors include poor cognitive test performance (2–4 points), body mass index below 18.5 (2 points), older age (1–2 points), history of bypass surgery (1 point), slow physical performance (1 point), and lack of alcohol consumption (1 point), presence of the ApoE4 gene (1 point), MRI findings of white matter disease (1 point) or ventricular enlargement (1 point), internal carotid artery thickening on ultrasound (1 point).

Barnes, D.E. et al. 2009. Predicting risk of dementia in older adults. The late-life dementia risk index. Neurology, published May 13, 2009.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKTRE54C77920090513

Eye tracking test detects mild cognitive impairment

A test first developed for use with nonhuman primates is now being used to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in humans. The infrared eye-tracking test involves showing one image and then another after a 2-second delay, and then repeating the test 2 minutes later. Those without cognitive impairment spend most of their time looking at the new image, but it was found that those with MCI spent less time looking at the new picture, presumably because they have less memory of seeing the original image before. Those with Alzheimer's disease look at both images equally. It’s hoped that this test may allow dementia to be spotted much earlier.

Crutcher, M.D. et al. 2009. Eye Tracking During a Visual Paired Comparison Task as a Predictor of Early Dementia. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, Published online February 26 2009.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/eu-yru041509.php

Shrinking in hippocampus precedes Alzheimer's

An imaging study of 64 Alzheimer's patients, 44 people with mild cognitive impairment, and 34 people with no memory or thinking problems, has found that those with smaller hippocampal volumes and higher rates of shrinkage were two to four times as likely to develop dementia over the study period (average 18 months) as those with larger volumes and a slower rate of atrophy. During that time, 23 of the people with MCI developed Alzheimer's, and three of the healthy participants.

Henneman, W.J.P. et al. 2009. Hippocampal atrophy rates in Alzheimer disease: Added value over whole brain volume measures. Neurology, 72, 999-1007.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/aaon-sih031009.php

Brain atrophy pattern in some MCI patients predicts Alzheimer's

A study of 84 patients with mild Alzheimer's, 175 patients with MCI and 139 healthy controls has revealed a pattern of regional brain atrophy in patients with MCI that indicates a greater likelihood of progression to Alzheimer's. Brain scans results showed widespread cortical atrophy in some patients with MCI, most importantly, atrophy in parts of the medial and lateral temporal lobes and in the frontal lobes — a pattern also present in the patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. Those exhibiting such atrophy declined significantly over a year and were more likely to progress to a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer's. MCI patients without that pattern of atrophy remained stable after a year. It should be noted that such atrophy affects not only memory, but also planning, organization, problem solving and language.

McEvoy, L.K. et al. 2009. Alzheimer Disease: Quantitative Structural Neuroimaging for Detection and Prediction of Clinical and Structural Changes in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Radiology, Published online February 6.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/rson-msb020309.php

Blood test could give early warning of Alzheimer’s risk

A simple blood test may enable us to predict whether someone will soon develop Alzheimer’s, allowing them to take action that might delay its development. In the study of 1,125 elderly persons without dementia, 104 (9.2%) of the participants developed Alzheimer’s over 4.6 years of follow-up. Higher blood levels of amyloid-beta 42 peptide at the onset of the study were associated with a threefold increased risk of Alzheimer’s, with the levels significantly declining at the onset of Alzheimer’s (perhaps because it has started accumulating in the brain).

Schupf, N. et al. 2008. Peripheral Aβ subspecies as risk biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. PNAS, 105 (37), 14052-14057.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/cumc-rst090808.php

Women lose weight at least a decade before developing dementia

Another study has come out associating weight loss with later dementia. The study found that women who later developed dementia started losing weight up to 20 years before the disease was diagnosed. On average, those with dementia weighed 12 pounds less than those without the disease the year the disease was diagnosed. The association may be related to a loss in the sense of smell, and increasing apathy. The association was not found with men, probably because older men were less likely to be preparing their own food. The findings do of course conflict with others suggesting that obesity in middle-age may be a risk factor for dementia. More research is needed to clarify the situation.

Knopman, D.S. et al. 2007. Incident dementia in women is preceded by weight loss by at least a decade. Neurology, 69, 739-746.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-08/aaon-wlw081407.php

Simple test predicts 6-year risk of dementia

A 14-point index combining medical history, cognitive testing, and physical examination — a simple test that can be given by any physician — has been found to predict a person’s risk for developing dementia within six years with 87% accuracy. As measured by the index, the risk factors for developing dementia are an age of 70 or older, poor scores on two simple cognitive tests, slow physical functioning on everyday tasks such as buttoning a shirt or walking 15 feet, a history of coronary artery bypass surgery, a body mass index of less than 18, and current non-consumption of alcohol. The results do need to be validated in other populations — for example, they have not yet been tested on Hispanics or Asian-Americans.

The tests were described in a presentation at the 2007 International Conference on Prevention of Dementia, in Washington, DC.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/uoc--stp060707.php

Brain structure changes years before memory loss begins

Another study provides evidence that people who develop dementia or Alzheimer's disease experience brain structure changes years before any signs of memory loss begin. The study involved 136 people over the age of 65 who were considered cognitively normal at the beginning of the five-year study. By the end of the study, 23 people had developed MCI, and nine of the 23 went on to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Compared to the group that didn't develop memory problems, the 23 who developed MCI or Alzheimer's disease had less gray matter in key memory processing areas (specifically, anteromedial temporal lobes and left angular gyrus) even at the beginning of the study when they were cognitively normal. They also had lower cognitive test scores, though these scores were still within normal range.

Smith, C.D. et al. 2007. Brain structural alterations before mild cognitive impairment. Neurology, 68, 1268-1273.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-04/aaon-bsc041007.php

Memory complaints early warning for Alzheimer's

A post-mortem study of 90 older adults from the Rush Memory and Aging Project found that those who had yet to have any clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease still showed a strong link between their self-reported memory complaints and brain pathology associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Barnes, L.L., Schneider, J.A., Boyle, P.A., Bienias, J.L. & Bennett, D.A. 2006. Memory complaints are related to Alzheimer disease pathology in older persons. Neurology, 67, 1581-1585.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-11/rumc-cam113006.php

New early diagnostic test trialed

A mouse study has used a laser scan of the eyes to accurately diagnose Alzheimer's well before the disease was evident in the brain. The study follows on from earlier research revealing that beta-amyloid protein is evident in the eyes of Alzheimer’s patients. The test, which is a very quick and simple procedure, is now in the first stage of experimental trials in people.

The findings were announced at the annual meeting of the Optical Society of America.

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.htm3?article_id=218392859

Link between increased weight-loss rate and dementia

Confirming earlier indications, a long-term study of the elderly has revealed that their average rate of weight loss doubles (from 0.6 pounds per year to 1.2 pounds per year) in the year before symptoms of Alzheimer's-type dementia first become detectable. The finding may be useful as one of several early biomarkers. The study analyzed data on 449 seniors, of whom 125 were eventually diagnosed with mild dementia. Interestingly, at the beginning of the study, this group weighed about 8lb less on average than the other participants, although the two groups lost weight at the same rate for four to five years, before weight loss increased in the group that would eventually be diagnosed with mild dementia. It is not yet known why there should be this connection between weight loss and dementia.

Johnson, D.K., Wilkins, C.H. & Morris, J.C. 2006. Accelerated weight loss in Alzheimer's disease precedes diagnosis. Archives of Neurology, 63, 1312-1317.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-09/wuso-bdf090806.php

Weight Loss Precedes Dementia Diagnosis In Women

A study has come out finding that, in women, declining weight precedes dementia by many years.
The retrospective study analyzed the medical records of 560 patients diagnosed with the onset of dementia between 1990 and 1994. The patients were matched with 560 controls. Among the women, average weight increased slightly over the preceding 30 years for the control group, but drifted downwards over the 30 years for those who developed dementia. The researchers suggest that changes in the brain interfered somehow with maintenance of body weight. The trend was not observed in men.

Findings were presented July 16 at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Madrid, Spain.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060716090233.htm

Link between size of hippocampus and progression to Alzheimer's

A study of 20 older adults with mild cognitive impairment has found that the hippocampus was smaller in those who developed into Alzheimer's during the 3 year period.

Apostolova, L.G. et al. 2006. Conversion of Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer Disease Predicted by Hippocampal Atrophy Maps. Archives of Neurology, 63, 693-699.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/uoc--rml050406.php

Alzheimer's disease onset tied to lapses in attention

A new finding may lead to another tool to detect Alzheimer’s early, and also offers support for the idea that breakdowns in attention may be at the heart of many of the memory problems experienced by Alzheimer’s sufferers. The study, involving 94 older adults (average age mid-70s) who were either healthy controls or in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, found those in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease had greater difficulty shifting attention back and forth between competing sources of information in a dichotic listening task. The finding may also explain why early-stage patients start to struggle with everyday tasks that call for processing a lot of information, such as driving. Prior research has found that performance on dichotic listening predicts accident rates in commercial bus drivers.
[note: this study was briefly reported on in September, but only mentioning its use as an early test]

Duchek, J.M. & Balota, D.A. 2005. Failure to Control Prepotent Pathways in Early Stage Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type: Evidence from Dichotic Listening. Neuropsychology, 19 (5).

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/wuis-ado110905.php

A new analysis of a standard brain test may help predict dementia

A new study gives promise of early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. A computer analysis of an EEG (electroencephalograph) test was almost 95% accurate in predicting those people in their 60s and 70s who would develop dementia over the next 7 to 10 years. There were several distinctive features in the brain waves of those who would later show cognitive impairment. The study now needs to be replicated with a larger sample.

Prichep, L.S., John, E.R., Ferris, S.H., Rausch, L., Fang, Z., Cancro, R., Torossian, C. & Reisberg, B. 2005. Prediction of longitudinal cognitive decline in normal elderly with subjective complaints using electrophysiological imaging. Neurobiology of Aging, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 6 October 2005.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-10/dumc-ana100505.php

Biosensor reveals new information about ADDLs

A new method using nanoscale optical biosensors allows researchers to detect and estimate the size and structure of ADDLs in cerebrospinal fluid. It’s believed that only ADDLs of a certain size cause problems for neurons in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. It is hoped that eventually this technology will help us diagnose Alzheimer’s accurately in living people, and aid our understanding of how ADDLs are involved in Alzheimer’s.

Haes, A.J., van Duyne, R.P., Klein, W.L. & Chang, L. 2005. The paper, ANYL 396, was presented at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 31, during the "New Frontiers in Ultrasensitive Analysis: Nanobiotech, Single Molecule Detection, and Single Cell Analysis" symposium.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-08/acs-brn081905.php

Protein studies may lead to new Alzheimer's test

A new technique has identified more than 400 proteins in human spinal fluid — 40 times more than previously known. On average, one of every five proteins identified was substantially changed in patients with Alzheimer's disease compared to older people without neurological disease. The finding may lead to a new test for diagnosing Alzheimer’s.

Zhang, J., Goodlett, D.R., Quinn, J.F., Peskind, E., Kaye, J.A., Zhou, Y., Pan, C., Yi, E., Eng, J., Wang, Q., Aebersold, R.H. & Montine, T.J. 2005. Quantitative proteomics of cerebrospinal fluid from patients with Alzheimer disease Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 7(2), 125-133.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-04/uow-psm041905.php

New test is first step in early detection of Alzheimer's disease

A new technique called bio-bar-code amplification (BCA) technology has been found to be able to detect miniscule amounts of ADDL in human cerebrospinal fluid, bringing promise of an early diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s. The researchers hope to develop the technology so that the test could be done using a blood or urine sample instead of cerebrospinal fluid, which is more difficult to obtain.

Georganopoulou, D.G., Chang, L., Nam, J.M., Thaxton, C.S., Mufson, E.J., Klein, W.L. & Mirkin, C.A. 2005. Nanoparticle-based detection in cerebral spinal fluid of a soluble pathogenic biomarker for Alzheimer's disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102, 2273-2276.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/nu-nti012805.php
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/nsf-nds012805.php

Smell test to help early diagnosis

One of the first types of memory affected by Alzheimer’s is olfactory memory – our database of smells. Researchers have now developed a simple scratch-and-sniff test that may enable Alzheimer’s to be detected in its very early stages. On the basis of a five-year study tracking 150 people with mild memory loss and Alzheimer's disease and 63 healthy adults, 10 specific odors proved to be the best predictors for Alzheimer's Disease: strawberry, smoke, soap, menthol, clove, pineapple, natural gas, lilac, lemon and leather. The test takes only 5 to 8 minutes, and seems to have comparable predictive ability as detailed memory and neuropsychological testing.

The findings were presented at the 2004 meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/g-sfl121004.php

Antibody detection in Alzheimer's may improve diagnosis, treatment

A study has found that people with Alzheimer’s disease have three to four times more antibodies to RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) and beta amyloid — both major players in Alzheimer’s — than their healthy counterparts. The ability to measure these specific antibody levels could lead to a method for very early diagnosis. The finding may also point to a new treatment approach. The study supports the theory that autoimmunity and resulting inflammation play a big role in Alzheimer’s.

Mruthinti, S., Buccafusco, J.J., Hill, W.D., Waller, J.L., Jackson, T.W., Zamrini, E.Y. & Schade, R.F. 2004. Autoimmunity in Alzheimer’s disease: increased levels of circulating IgGs binding Ab and RAGE peptides. Neurobiology of Aging, 25 (8), 1023-1032.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-06/mcog-adi060204.php

Loss of smell linked to key protein in Alzheimer's disease

Loss of smell is one of the first clinical signs of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Now researchers have linked smell loss in genetically altered mice with excessive levels of a key protein associated with these diseases. If smell function declines as the levels of this protein increase in brain regions associated with smelling, the research could validate the use of smell tests for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease.

Macknin, J.B., Higuchi, M., Lee, V.M-Y., Trojanowski, J.Q. & Doty, R.L. 2004. Olfactory dysfunction occurs in transgenic mice overexpressing human t protein. Brain Research, 1000, 174-178.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-03/uopm-los030304.php

Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease may soon be possible earlier

Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease is problematic because we have had no definitive tests for the disease (other than after death, by examining the brain). Recent research suggests that two markers in cerebrospinal fluid may indicate the presence of Alzheimers. This is exciting not only because it would make diagnosis easier, but because it might enable us to diagnose it much earlier. However, to be clinically useful, they will need to develop tests that use more readily available fluids (such as urine).

Praticò, D., Clark, C. M., Lee, V. M.-Y., Trojanowski, J. Q., Rokach, J., & FitzGerald, G. A. (2000). Increased 8,12-iso-iPF2α-VI in Alzheimer’s disease: Correlation of a noninvasive index of lipid peroxidation with disease severity. Annals of Neurology, 48(5), 809–812. doi:10.1002/1531-8249(200011)48:5<809::AID-ANA19>3.0.CO;2-9

Gene marker for late-onset Alzheimer's disease nearer discovery

Three independent studies have linked late-onset Alzheimer's disease to a locus on chromosome 10 that affects processing of the amyloid-beta protein, a peptide important in the formation of the characteristic amyloid plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers are optimistic the precise gene will be found in the next few years.
Before this, a particular form of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene on chromosome 19 has been the only widely recognized genetic risk factor in late onset Alzheimer’s disease. There is also some evidence of a risk factor gene on a region of chromosome 12.
So far, three genes have been found that are linked to the rare early-onset Alzheimer's (when symptoms appear before age 60).

Bertram, L., Blacker, D., Mullin, K., Keeney, D., Jones, J., Basu, S., … Tanzi, R. E. (2000). Evidence for Genetic Linkage of Alzheimer’s Disease to Chromosome 10q. Science, 290(5500), 2302–2303. doi:10.1126/science.290.5500.2302

Ertekin-Taner, N., Graff-Radford, N., Younkin, L. H., Eckman, C., Baker, M., Adamson, J., … Younkin, S. G. (2000). Linkage of Plasma Aβ42 to a Quantitative Locus on Chromosome 10 in Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Pedigrees. Science, 290(5500), 2303–2304. doi:10.1126/science.290.5500.2303

Myers, A., Holmans, P., Marshall, H., Kwon, J., Meyer, D., Ramic, D., … Goate, A. M. (2000). Susceptibility Locus for Alzheimer’s Disease on Chromosome 10. Science, 290(5500), 2304–2305. doi:10.1126/science.290.5500.2304

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2000-12/MCJ-Loc1-2112100.php

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Early detection and treatment of Alzheimer's makes a difference

A Finnish project (ALSOVA) has been following 240 patient-caregiver pairs, where the patient had very mild or mild Alzheimer's disease at the beginning of the study and had a family caregiver. A three-year follow-up of 115 patients has found that those diagnosed and treated very early were able to manage their everyday activities longer and suffered from less psychological and behavioral symptoms, compared to those diagnosed later.

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Memory complaints linked to higher risk of MCI & dementia

Data from 6257 older adults (aged 55-90) evaluated from 2005-2012 has revealed that concerns about memory should be taken seriously, with subjective complaints associated with a doubled risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia, and subjective complaints supported by a loved one being associated with a fourfold risk. Complaints by a loved one alone were also associated with a doubled risk.

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New biomarker shows Alzheimer's disease long before symptoms

Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the cerebrospinal fluid has found that both symptomatic Alzheimer’s patients and asymptomatic patients at risk of Alzheimer’s showed a significant decrease in levels of circulating cell-free mtDNA in the CSF.

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