MedNews

  • Drug Industry News
  • FDA News & Alerts
  • Health & Medical News
You are here: Home / Health & Medical News / Alzheimer's / Scientists’ Research May Help ID Eary Markers for Alzheimer’s Disease

Scientists’ Research May Help ID Eary Markers for Alzheimer’s Disease

June 13, 2009 By MedNews Leave a Comment

Alzheimer’s disease patients show a relentless decline in memory over the course of the disease, which is accompanied by both brain atrophy and by characteristic deposits in the brain tissue called amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences studied a large database, collected in the US, of patients with Alzheimer’s or memory complaints who had MRI scans and had spinal taps to collect cerebrospinal fluid, which is in the brain and spinal chord. By examining the CFS they could measure the amounts of the substances that make p plaques and tangles, and related this to brain atrophy.

They found that the amount of plaque and tangle-producing chemicals in the cerebrospinal fluid correlated with brain tissue loss in selective regions of the brain which are typically affected in Alzheimer’s disease. The brains in these regions had thinned out suggesting that brain cells had died. These regions are important for memory and are typically active when the brain is at rest.

Using these techniques may ultimately help identify early markers of disease in Alzheimer’s, potentially indicating who is likely to develop Alzheimer’s before memory loss is critical.

Authors: J Jiang, S Wang, X Zhen, Z Yao, C Xu, T Jiang, AD NI3 LIAMA Center for Computational Medicine, National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China

Source: Organization for Human Brain Mapping

Filed Under: Alzheimer's



Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search



Tag Cloud

alcohol alzheimers asthma breast cancer cancer children cholesterol dementia depression Diabetes diet drug abuse exercise fda flu food genetics geriatrics h1n1 heart heart attack heart disease high blood pressure HIV/AIDS hormone therapy hypertension lungs menopause mrsa NIH obesity pain pediatrics pregnancy prostate cancer seniors sleep smoking statistics stroke sun swine flu teens USA women's health

Recent Comments

  • Mia Fritz on Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
  • Shilpa on Why Too Much Iron Can Be Dangerous
  • Racheal on Teen Pregnancy May Be Reduced by Sex Education in Schools, Says Study
  • Don on Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid Tied to Higher Risk of Pneumonia
  • Meso on Brain Changes in Elderly Can Affect Mobility and Balance
  • About Us
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Mednews · Log in