In the study, researchers studied blood samples from fifty-seven older volunteers who had no symptoms of Alzheimer’s. They also used PET scans to measure the amyloid protein. They found that volunteers with high blood levels of amyloid had much higher levels of it in the part of the brain that controls memory. Dr. Thambisetty found the results interesting.
DR. MADHAV THAMBISETTY: “Recent studies suggest that the deposition of amyloid might happen several years before symptoms of memory impairment begin in somebody with Alzheimer’s disease.”
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Another test for the disease uses a new kind of brain scan to identify protein in the brain. In January, the United States Food and Drug Administration held hearings about a special radioactive dye that connects to the protein. The special dye can be seen on PET scans.
People who were near the end of their lives agreed to have both the brain scan and an autopsy performed after they died. An autopsy is a medical examination of the body after someone dies. The researchers reported that in almost all of the people, the scan results were nearly the same as the autopsy results.
JUNE SIMMS: Neil Buckholtz is chief of the Dementias of Aging Branch at the National Institute on Aging. He says early intervention is important in the fight against the disease.
NEIL BUCKHOLTZ: “How these changes progress over time, so that we’ll be able to target those for drug intervention, and again, eventually we’ll be able to slow the progression and, hopefully, stop the disease in its tracks.”
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25