Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Detecting the Earliest Signs of Alzheimer's

Continued from page 1

By Emily Singer

Saykin cautions that the findings will need to be confirmed in other studies and that it's not yet clear if those in the study with cognitive complaints will go on to develop Alzheimer's disease. To answer this question, the researchers plan to follow the people in the study for the next five years.

Finding a way to diagnose Alzheimer's or to assess a person's risk of developing the disease is crucial. Several novel types of neuroprotective medicines are currently in clinical trials for the disease, and experts believe these remedies will probably be most effective as a protective measure, rather than as a treatment after significant brain damage has occurred.

The ultimate goal is for doctors to use brain imaging to monitor patients' risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD)--as they monitor blood pressure and cholesterol levels to prevent heart attacks. But before that's possible, studies such as Saykin's are needed to characterize the normal pattern of aging in the brain and the features that distinguish those who will likely develop dementia.

In the mean time, though, people shouldn't worry if they have the occasional "senior moment."

"Memory problems are very common as you age, so elderly people who have some memory complaints should not take this to mean that they have early AD," says Michael Weiner, professor of radiology and medicine and an imaging expert at the University of California, San Francisco. "I don't remember as well as I used to, and I don't have early AD."