Kathy Egan
ECB Publishing, Inc.
In 1906, Alois Alzheimer, a neuropathologist and psychiatrist, first identified a condition characterized by memory loss, confusion, mood changes, and cognitive difficulties. After his patient died, an examination of her brain revealed amyloid plaques and tangles of tau protein. These two characteristics are still considered hallmarks – signs – of Alzheimer's.
The disease was named after him, and now, over 100 years after the first known observation of Alzheimer's disease (generally referred to simply as Alzheimer's), scientists have developed a blood test that can help diagnose the debilitating disease.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA), almost seven million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's, and that number is expected to increase. The disease is progressive, meaning it gets worse as time moves on, and is debilitating. This form of dementia clearly affects massive numbers of people, as the afflicted are not the only people who struggle. Family members, the medical community, even society as a whole feel the effects of Alzheimer's.
One more tool in the medical tool belt can only be a good thing. The blood test looks for the markers first identified by the physician in 1906 and uses a numerical formula to indicate an abnormal abundance of them. There is a similar test that has been in use but that test requires a spinal tap; this new test requires a regular, simple blood test that is both low-cost and much less invasive than a spinal tap.
The new blood test is not intended to the sole means of diagnosis and is not used on the general population. Its use is reserved for people over 55 who show symptoms and is used in conjunction with other patient information.