Monday, October 15, 2007

Blood test may be able to predict Alzheimer's risk

The Mental Health Foundation report that "Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have developed a blood test that is a step toward giving people an answer two to six years in advance of the onset of the disease.

The test identifies changes in a handful of proteins in blood plasma that cells use to convey messages to one another. The research team discovered a connection between shifts in the cells' dialog and the changes in the brain accompanying Alzheimer's. They found that the blood test could indicate who had Alzheimer's with 90 percent agreement with clinical diagnoses, and could predict the onset of Alzheimer's two to six years before symptoms appeared."

With all the restrictions on Alzheimer's drugs and its dire prognosis would you want to know?

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