A new study believes that cognitive tests and brain scans can help detect the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers found that participants with mild cognitive impairment, who scored low on a memory recall test, and also had low glucose metabolism in particular brain regions, as detected through positron emission tomography (PET), had a 15-fold greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease within two years.
PET Scan may Help to Detect Alzheimer's Non-invasively
A method of medical imaging known as PET scans may allow doctors to develop a non-invasive test for Alzheimer's by spotting abnormal brain plaques associated with the disease, Finnish
Advertisement
"Not all people with mild cognitive impairment go on to develop Alzheimer's, so it would be extremely useful to be able to identify those who are at greater risk of converting using a clinical test or biological measurement," said the study's lead author, Susan Landau, a post-doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley's Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
"Researchers are trying to determine whether treating patients before severe symptoms appear will be more effective, and that requires better diagnostic tools than what is currently available," added William Jagust, a faculty member of UC Berkeley's Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and principal investigator of the study.
![HRT Does Benefit Postmenopausal Women, PET Scan Shows]( "HRT Does Benefit Postmenopausal Women, PET Scan Shows")
A new study by researchers at the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, has found that the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) does help decrease the risk of developing coronary
During the study, the researchers compared a variety of measurements that had previously shown promise as early detectors of Alzheimer's.
The measurements included scores on the Auditory Verbal Learning Test; the volume of the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with the formation of new memory; the presence of the apolipoprotein E4 gene, which has been linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's; certain proteins found in the cerebrospinal fluid; and glucose metabolism detected in PET brain scans.
A low rate of glucose metabolism in a particular brain region is considered a sign of poor neural function.
Although hippocampus volume and the cerebrospinal fluid markers showed promise in predicting disease progression, PET scans and memory recall ability were found to be the most consistent predictors.
The findings were presented at Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Vienna, Austria.
Source: ANI
TAN
HRT Does Benefit Postmenopausal Women, PET Scan Shows
A new study by researchers at the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, has found that the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) does help decrease the risk of developing coronary
Advertisement
During the study, the researchers compared a variety of measurements that had previously shown promise as early detectors of Alzheimer's.
The measurements included scores on the Auditory Verbal Learning Test; the volume of the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with the formation of new memory; the presence of the apolipoprotein E4 gene, which has been linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's; certain proteins found in the cerebrospinal fluid; and glucose metabolism detected in PET brain scans.
A low rate of glucose metabolism in a particular brain region is considered a sign of poor neural function.
Although hippocampus volume and the cerebrospinal fluid markers showed promise in predicting disease progression, PET scans and memory recall ability were found to be the most consistent predictors.
The findings were presented at Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Vienna, Austria.
Source: ANI
TAN
PET Scan Has a Major Impact on Management of Cancer Patient Care
A study on data from America's National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR), has confirmed that FDG-PET or PET scan has a major impact on management of cancer patient care.
Advertisement
 PET Scan can Help Distinguish Alzheimer's from Other DementiaPET scan that measures uptake of sugar in the brain significantly improves the accuracy of diagnosing a type of dementia often mistaken for Alzheimer's disease. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Research News
Researchers found that treatments helping to repair nerve damage in neurons in a near-embryonic state might potentially restore sight and movement.
Tobacco smoke contains toxic chemicals which damage lungs, weaken the immune system and cause tuberculosis.
Identifying an unappreciated relationship between brain shape and activity overturns the century-old paradigm emphasizing the importance of complex brain connectivity.
Decoding the eight factors affecting Black adults' life expectancy.
Sobering truth about foot travel in the United States emerges from international statistics, highlighting the prevalence of walking on the Blacksburg campus.