Toward an early Alzheimer's test
In a new study, Coleman and his colleagues demonstrate the promise of an early blood test for Alzheimer's disease . The results suggest that Alzheimer's can be detected even before the onset of symptoms in persons at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. In addition to the NDRC, study collaborators include ASU, the Mayo Clinic, University of Rochester, Banner Alzheimer Institute and Barrow Neurological Institute. The new method successfully distinguished between Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and healthy controls, indicating that the test does not simply identify general phenomena of neurodegeneration but is able to pick out AD from other degenerative brain conditions. "What we've done in our paper is to replicate our own work multiple times with different populations and even using different technologies," Coleman says. "We also presented data showing the ability to detect people at risk of a future diagnosis for Alzheimer's disease....