Simple blood test can spot Alzheimer's risk

New York, Oct 15 - Scientists in the US claim to have developed a simple blood test that may help spot the risk of Alzheimer's disease - a brain disorder which begins affecting people years before the symptoms become apparent.

There is no proven treatment for Alzheimer's, which is commonly found in people over the age of 65. However, there are a number of medicines available that may help improve the mental function of people with the symptoms.

Researchers at Stanford University found that their test could indicate who had Alzheimer's as well as who was likely to develop the condition with 90 percent accuracy, reported the online edition of BBC News.

One of the most distressing aspects of Alzheimer's disease is the difficulty in determining whether mild memory problems are the beginning of an inevitable mental decline.

Currently, Alzheimer's is effectively diagnosed by ruling out other causes of mental decline.

The new study published in the journal Nature Medicine pinpoints a connection between changes in the brain affected by Alzheimer's and changes in the way cells communicate with each other.

'Just as a psychiatrist can conclude a lot of things by listening to the words of a patient, so by 'listening' to different proteins we are measuring whether something is going wrong in the cells,' lead researcher Tony Wyss-Coray said.

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

More Health News click here