Alzheimer's decades before outbreak recognizable

Alzheimer's diagnosis: disease recognizable years before the outbreak

14/06/2011

Alzheimer's can be identified with the help of a new diagnostic procedure years before the actual outbreak of the disease. After US scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago already reported in April 2011 (see trade magazine „Neurology“) that Alzheimer's is theoretically recognizable years before the onset of disease, researchers at the University of Leipzig have now developed a diagnostic method that should allow such an early detection of the disease.

With the help of the new method for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, the neurodegenerative disease can be identified as early as 15 years before the actual onset of the disease, reports the research team led by Osama Sabri of the University Hospital Leipzig. As part of an international study, the scientists have tested a diagnostic method that allows the detection of the Alzheimer's triggering protein beta-amyloid. Since beta-amyloid deposits for years in certain brain regions before it comes to the onset of the disease, can be detected with the help of the new diagnostic method long before the onset of disease threatening Alzheimer's disease, the statement of the Leipzig researchers.

Alzheimer's disease based on the protein beta-amyloid
The early detection of Alzheimer's could improve significantly with the help of the new diagnostic procedure in the future, so the hope of the scientists to Osama Sabri, Director of the Clinic and Policlinic of Nuclear Medicine at the University Hospital Leipzig. By injecting a weakly radioactive marker, called florbetaben, the scientists were able to demonstrate the Alzheimer-causing protein beta-amyloid in the positron emission tomograph (PET) in the study participants. The marker substance was injected into the arms of the volunteers and migrated from there to the brain, where it increasingly accumulated in the protein beta-amyloid and made this so visible on the images of PET. Thus, the most common form of dementia can already be seen years before the actual Alzheimer outbreak, explained study leader Osama Sabri. According to the director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine, the „Findings of the study a serious improvement in Alzheimer's diagnostics“.

Alzheimer's up to 15 years before disease outbreak recognizable
The detection of the protein beta-amyloid in the brain could detect Alzheimer's disease in the future around ten to 15 years before the actual onset of disease, said the Leipzig scientists. According to Henryk Barthel of the University of Leipzig, who is also involved in the study, this would be „a real revolution in Alzheimer's diagnostics“. Because the previous tests offer no way to such an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's and are also extremely inaccurate - up to a third of the diseases are misdiagnosed according to the experts. For those affected, however, an early diagnosis with promptly initiated treatment can represent a time saving of several years, during which they stay fit for longer.

Doubling of Alzheimer's Disease by 2050
Although Alzheimer's is not curable so far, but the different treatment methods can significantly delay disease progression. In addition, the development of a new diagnostic method in the context of demographic trends in the industrialized nations is of particular importance. According to the experts, the number of Alzheimer's and dementia diseases will increase massively in the coming years. According to the German Alzheimer Society, around 1.2 million people in this country already suffer from dementia today, with two-thirds of the patients having Alzheimer's disease. In the coming years, the situation is expected to continue to worsen dramatically, because the forecasts of the German Alzheimer's Association assume a doubling of Alzheimer's patients by the year 2050. The new diagnostic procedure could significantly improve the foundations of future Alzheimer's treatment. (Fp)

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