Contributed by: Dennis Fortier, President, Medical Care Corporation
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Unfortunately, not that well.
Scientists have been studying this disease for many yeas now, intensively so for the past decade. We have learned much and our understanding about the underlying pathology, risks, and avenues of treatment have all progressed.
However, the most basic mystery, what causes the disease, has not yet been solved.
We have described the leading theories (the Cholinergic hypothesis, the Amyloid hypothesis, and the Tau hypothesis) in earlier posts. While the majority of drug development work is currently aligned with the amyloid hypothesis, a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests some weaknesses in that theory.
As described here, researchers examined the brains of 456 deceased people aged 69 to 103 and evaluated the correlation between the amount of amyloid build-up and diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease. While there was a fairly strong correlation in those at age 75, it was much weaker in the population at age 95.
Clearly, there is more work to do before we fully understand the pathology of this disease and make more rapid progress toward a cure.
The Alzheimer's Project: Viewable Online
Contributed by: Dennis Fortier, President, Medical Care Corporation
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One of the major barriers to better care in the Alzheimer's field is lack of education. This blog is dedicated to helping solve that problem.
In general, patients and physicians are not adequately informed about the benefits of vigilantly monitoring cognitive health and managing risk factors as successful strategies to promote vital aging. The recent HBO documentary (The Alzheimer's Project) made an excellent contribution to the level of public knowledge and I am happy to report that it is now freely accessible, in its entirety, online.
You can view it here and, if you have not already done so, I encourage you to watch it.
________________________________________________
One of the major barriers to better care in the Alzheimer's field is lack of education. This blog is dedicated to helping solve that problem.
In general, patients and physicians are not adequately informed about the benefits of vigilantly monitoring cognitive health and managing risk factors as successful strategies to promote vital aging. The recent HBO documentary (The Alzheimer's Project) made an excellent contribution to the level of public knowledge and I am happy to report that it is now freely accessible, in its entirety, online.
You can view it here and, if you have not already done so, I encourage you to watch it.
Alzheimer's Test in the News
Contributed by: Dennis Fortier, President, Medical Care Corporation
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Over the last two days, many news outlets have reported this story about a "new Alzheimer's test". It is based on analysis of a small sample of skin cells and holds promise for accurately detecting Alzheimer's disease in its early stages. For perspective, I offer the following comments.
Bio-markers
This is a bio-marker test. A bio-marker, as defined by researchers at Stanford University is "a specific biological trait, such as the level of a certain molecule in the body, that can be measured to indicate the progression of a disease or condition". In this instance, the test measures the presence of a phosphorous binding enzyme which is theorized to contribute to the Alzheimer's disease process.
Detection vs. Diagnosis
Despite the characterization in many headlines I have seen, this will be a test for "diagnosing" Alzheimer's disease, not for "detecting" it. This means that once a patient is deemed to have a medical condition interfering with normal cognition, a physician will need to consider the possible causes and diagnose the correct one. Since we currently diagnose Alzheimer's disease partially by ruling out other causes, this new test might be an inexpensive, non-invasive, and hopefully accurate means for arriving more directly at a diagnosis of AD.
With a projected cost of several hundred dollars per test, this approach could add certainty while reducing time in the diagnostic process. The test is being co-developed by the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute and Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. with a possible commercial product available within 18 months.
________________________________________________
Over the last two days, many news outlets have reported this story about a "new Alzheimer's test". It is based on analysis of a small sample of skin cells and holds promise for accurately detecting Alzheimer's disease in its early stages. For perspective, I offer the following comments.
Bio-markers
This is a bio-marker test. A bio-marker, as defined by researchers at Stanford University is "a specific biological trait, such as the level of a certain molecule in the body, that can be measured to indicate the progression of a disease or condition". In this instance, the test measures the presence of a phosphorous binding enzyme which is theorized to contribute to the Alzheimer's disease process.
Detection vs. Diagnosis
Despite the characterization in many headlines I have seen, this will be a test for "diagnosing" Alzheimer's disease, not for "detecting" it. This means that once a patient is deemed to have a medical condition interfering with normal cognition, a physician will need to consider the possible causes and diagnose the correct one. Since we currently diagnose Alzheimer's disease partially by ruling out other causes, this new test might be an inexpensive, non-invasive, and hopefully accurate means for arriving more directly at a diagnosis of AD.
With a projected cost of several hundred dollars per test, this approach could add certainty while reducing time in the diagnostic process. The test is being co-developed by the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute and Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. with a possible commercial product available within 18 months.
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