Scientists closer to blood test for Alzheimer's

LONDON - A British study has identified blood proteins that appear in patients subsequently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, raising hopes of a test that could help the search for a cure.

There is currently no cure for the brain-wasting disease, the most common form of dementia, which Alzheimer’s Disease International estimates affects 44 million people worldwide, a figure set to triple by 2050.

A test to diagnose the disease early on would allow researchers to monitor patient before they develop advanced symptoms, potentially helping the search for a cure.

The study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia monitored 220 patients with mild cognitive impairment.

The researchers identified 10 proteins that were present in the blood of 87 percent of those in the group who went on to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s within a year.

"Many of our drug trials fail because by the time patients are given the drugs, the brain has already been too severely affected," said Oxford University neuroscience professor Simon Lovestone, who led the study in King’s College London.

"A simple blood test could help us identify patients at a much earlier stage to take part in new trials and hopefully develop treatments which could prevent the progression of the disease. The next step will be to validate our findings in further sample sets."
AFP

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Scientists-closer-to-blood-test-for-Alzheimers-30237996.html


-- The Nation 2014-07-08

Good for them. Now I hope they can discover what causes the proteins to be there, which might lead to the cause of the disease. It's a nasty disease, but mostly for family and loved ones.

Good for them. Now I hope they can discover what causes the proteins to be there, which might lead to the cause of the disease. It's a nasty disease, but mostly for family and loved ones.

Both of my parents are rapidly going that way and on my father's side both his parents went that way.

I don't know about my mother's side as never knew those grandparents.

Not looking forward to getting older myself.

Some people claim that taking several tablespoons of coconut oil helps, but my parents don't believe in natural cures so won't even try it.

Check out this search on youtube.... some very interesting info

http://www.youtube.com/results?q=coconut+oil+alzheimer%27s

Some people claim that taking several tablespoons of coconut oil helps, but my parents don't believe in natural cures so won't even try it.

I'd put it in the "what do I have to lose?" category. Thanks for the link.

What can it hurt? It has a huge amount of saturated fat. You might die of heart disease before the Alzheimer's gets you.

What can it hurt? It has a huge amount of saturated fat. You might die of heart disease before the Alzheimer's gets you.

Ya think I'd really care?

What was this about? I've misplaced my shoes.