More accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's
2011-04-20
(Press-News.org) A new study from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows how analysing spinal fluid can help to detect Alzheimer's disease at an early stage. The researchers behind the study hope that their findings will contribute to a greater international breakthrough for this type of diagnostic method.
It all comes down to biomarkers, substances that are found at abnormally high or low levels in patients who go on to develop Alzheimer's. The most common biomarkers to be identified by the researchers in the spinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer's are proteins and peptides – short chains of amino acids.
"What's new about our study is that the biomarkers are really good, better than in the past, as the study was carried out extremely carefully with suitable participants via clinical trials and well implemented and controlled laboratory analyses," says docent Johan Svensson, who is working with professor Kaj Blennow's research group at the Sahlgrenska Academy, which has long been involved in researching the development of these biomarkers and advocating their use.
A total of 60 patients who were being investigated for dementia took part in the study, along with 20 healthy controls.
"We measured levels of the biomarkers in the spinal fluid and found that high levels of these substances confirmed the diagnosis of Alzheimer's with a high degree of accuracy compared with levels in healthy controls and patients with other forms of dementia," says Svensson.
"We also saw that patients who hadn't yet met all the clinical criteria for Alzheimer's had similar levels of the biomarkers in their spinal fluid to patients who had developed the disease fully."
The research group therefore concludes that these measurements can also be used to identify Alzheimer's during the early stages of the disease. In such cases, the biomarkers can be used to identify those patients with mild symptoms who are most likely to benefit from treatment.
"If a medication that affects the course of the disease does become available, it will probably be most effective during the early stages, and these biomarkers could be used in the development of such a medication," says Svensson.
The study will be published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
INFORMATION:
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
With more than 100,000 people affected in Sweden, Alzheimer's is one of the most common diseases of our time. Caused by changes in the brain's nerve cells, the disease predominantly affects the memory and often leads to an early death. Alzheimer's results in not only considerable suffering for patients and their families, but also enormous costs to society.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-04-20
Los Angeles health insurance agents at Master Insurance Services have now made it easier than ever for self-employed individuals to find an insurance plan that suits their needs. Anyone can receive an instant quote by filling out the online form on Master Insurance Service's website and compare different plans from different providers and find the one that suits their needs without the hassle of searching around and checking different websites.
The changing economic conditions continue to bring uncertainty to workers. Workers are learning to make personal sacrifices ...
2011-04-20
Håkan Eggert's studies from Iceland and the Gullmar fjord on the Swedish west coast, reveal that when commercial fishermen are given fishing rights they voluntarily choose more sustainable fishing methods and earn far more. His research at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, demonstrates that over-capacity in the fishing fleet can be reduced.
Transferrable fishing rights were introduced in Sweden as late as 2009, and then only for species such as herring and mackerel. A report from the inquiry into Sweden's new Fishery Conservation Act has recently been out for consultation ...
2011-04-20
Youngsters are, on average, 16 years old and sober when they make their sexual debut with somebody they have known for a while. However, condoms feature in just half of sexual encounters with new or casual partners, reveals a major survey on the sexual habits, attitudes and knowledge of young people carried out by the University of Gothenburg on behalf of the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control.
"We have to get young people to view condoms as an essential part of having sex," says Ronny Heikki Tikkanen, one of the researchers behind the study which polled ...
2011-04-20
Rotavirus vaccination in all areas of Brazil is associated with reduced diarrhea-related deaths and hospital admissions in children aged under five years, reports a study in this week's PLoS Medicine.
Manish Patel from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and colleagues show that these real-world impact data—what actually happens in reality rather than in strictly controlled clinical trial settings—are consistent with the clinical trials and conclude that their study strengthens the evidence base for use of rotavirus vaccination as ...
2011-04-20
Policies to promote healthy ageing often emphasize a healthy diet and maintaining physical activity. But currently there is little good evidence to support the benefits of improved nutrition and increased physical activity levels for older adults from low-income or transition economies. Alan Dangour from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom, and colleagues report this week in PLoS Medicine the outcomes of the Cost-effectiveness Evaluation of a Nutritional supplement and EXercise program for older people — CENEX — which evaluated whether Chile's ...
2011-04-20
In this week's PLoS Medicine, Stephan Harbarth from the University of Geneva, Switzerland and colleagues argue that the International Health Regulations (IHR) should be applied to the global health threat of antimicrobial resistance. They say that certain events marking the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, especially those involving new pan-resistant strains for which there are no suitable treatments, may constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and are notifiable to WHO under the IHR notification requirement.
In an ...
2011-04-20
OAK BROOK, Ill. – Each year, more than two million critically ill patients are transferred from one hospital emergency department (ED) to another for appropriate care. With the ability to successfully import data from a CD-ROM containing the patient's diagnostic medical images, hospitals may be able to significantly reduce unnecessary medical imaging tests, some of which expose patients to radiation. These findings are reported in a new study published in the July issue of Radiology.
According to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, the implementing ...
2011-04-20
A new study found that treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) is common in idiopathic autism. Early age at the onset of seizures and delayed global development were associated with a higher frequency of resistance to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Full findings appear online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities that can significantly impact social interaction, ...
2011-04-20
An analysis of data from Medicare beneficiaries who underwent hip replacement or subsequent follow-up corrective surgery between 1991 and 2008 indicates that the length of hospital stay after surgery declined during this time period, as did the proportion of patients discharged home, while there was an increase in the rate of hospital readmissions and discharge to a skilled care facility, according to a study in the April 20 issue of JAMA.
"Total hip arthroplasty [replacement] is a safe and effective therapy for patients with advanced degenerative joint disease. In recent ...
2011-04-20
DURHAM, N.C.--Deforestation in parts of the Peruvian Amazon has increased six-fold in recent years as small-scale miners, driven by record gold prices, blast and clear more of the lowland rainforest, according to a new Duke University-led study.
The study, published today in the online journal PLoS ONE, combined NASA satellite imagery spanning six years with economic analyses of gold prices and mercury imports to document the forces responsible for deforestation in Peru's biologically diverse Madre de Dios region.
Roughly 7,000 hectares, or about 15,200 acres, of pristine ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] More accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's
