Can a simple blood test be possible to screen for Alzheimer’s disease and other brain conditions? New research discussed at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) last month suggests that reliable, low cost blood serum analysis for brain biomarkers is a possibility within the next decade or so. Blood tests are an attractive screening option… Read More »
I’m at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Boston this week, and one of the most discussed topics is the power of brain imaging tests to detect amyloid beta protein in the brain, one of the main hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging tests can identify amyloid beta deposits in… Read More »
A research team at Washington University School of Medicine just published the results of a study that looked at a number of cognitive changes and biomarkers that can be used to predict the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease long before symptoms appear – in some cases up to 20 years before symptom onset. The study, published… Read More »
The PLoS ONE science journal published an interesting study performed by the Brain and Aging Research Program at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The study sampled apolipoprotein levels in blood samples from over 600 older adults participating in the ongoing Sydney Memory and Aging Study. Apolipoproteins are proteins that transport cholesterol… Read More »
A timely article in the medical journal Neurology speaks to some impending issues that millions of patients and physicians will be facing over the next decade, namely the possible early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease in the pre-clinical phase, before functional cognitive impairment is present. New computerized cognitive testing tools and experimental biomarker tests are bringing… Read More »
A recent article in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease discussed several inconvenient facts on the state of Alzheimer’s research, namely that the almost singular focus on amyloid beta protein as the cause of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has produced a remarkable string of failures in drug trials that target removal of amyloid beta in the brain. Authored… Read More »