First Proven Diagnostic Test For Alzheimer's

An anonymous reader writes "A test that can confirm or rule out Alzheimer's disease at an early stage has been shown effective by US pathologists. 'With this test, we can reliably detect and track the progression of Alzheimer's disease,' said lead researcher Leslie Shaw with the University of Pennsylvania's Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative in Philadelphia. ... The new test is detailed in the journal Annals of Neurology. It measures the cerebral-spinal fluid concentration of two biochemicals associated with the disease — amyloid beta42 peptide and tau protein."

Re:spinal tap?

[kylemonger]

No joke. I think most people when faced with a lumbar puncture would choose to not to know, or to just start taking Aricept blind. A needle in the arm or the ass is bad enough, a needle in the spine is a whole other level of terror.

Almost a golden grail in AD research!

[blind biker]

Those who don't have a loved one with suspected Alzheimer's Disease (AD) don't even imagine how important this news is. AD is impossible to accurately decisively diagnose before it's moderate to advanced (before that it's just a non-specific Mild Cognitive Impairment), and even then there will always be doubts. AD is only decisively diagnosed after the death of the patient, when a biopsy of cerebral mass is made. No genetic diagnosis egsists, because there are so many genetic modifications that can lead to AD.

Anyway, this is great news for me, as I do have someone who is suspect to early signs of AD. I hope he can be tested soon.