Study Shows Spinal Fluid Test for Alzheimer's Disease Successful

Scientists believe that Alzheimer’s is caused by accumulation of amyloid and tau which precipitates formation of amyloid plaques. They argue that stopping build-up of these proteins could halt the disease, but more research must be done on the effect of accumulation of these proteins in the brains of those with normal memories.

After years of research doctors now agree the onset of Alzheimer’s occurs a decade or more before an individual exhibits symptoms. By the time symptoms become noticeable it may be too late to treat the damage to the brain. Because of these facts, research has largely been targeted at identifying those who are developing the disease before symptoms appear and using them as subjects in studies of the hundreds of drugs that may stall progression of the disease. Until recently diagnosis of Alzheimer’s could only be confirmed at autopsy, but spinal fluid tests now join PET scans of the brain as tests which can confirm incidence of the disease.

New PET scans show the amyloid plaques in the brain that are indicative of Alzheimer’s. Although these PET scans are not commercially available, spinal fluid tests are. This fact opens up another world of questions and necessary research – scientists must make sure the tests are reliable if used in doctor’s offices (a.k.a. real-world situations) and they must confront the issue of whether doctors should test for a disease that is still untreatable. Essentially, how early should we label patients as future sufferers of Alzheimer’s? Some doctors suggest refraining from using the spinal fluid test as the results, though 100% accurate in research settings, have only been proven accurate in patients carefully selected to have no other conditions which could impair their brain function or memory. A false positive on a spinal fluid test could prove devastative to a real-world patient. Equally troublesome is the fact that patients with severe memory loss sometimes suffer not from Alzheimer’s but from another disease – a negative result on the spinal fluid test does not guarantee one might not suffer from another memory-loss condition later in life. As a result, researchers and doctors suggest not using the test except to confirm an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in patients with milder symptoms.

2 Genetic Factors Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

In Colombia, researchers have begun to study a family with a huge history of early-onset Alzheimer’s in hopes of learning more about the genetic component to the illness.  The family, most of whom who live in the Antioquia region of Columbia, develop Alzheimer’s by their late 40s. In one immediate family, four children in one family have developed early Alzheimer’s symptoms in their forties.  Scientists want to test treatments on these high-risk Columbians to see if the treatment will stop memory loss.  Medication on the market right now does little to counteract the effects of current patients.  By enrolling Colombians with the Paisa mutation and a corresponding group of Americans aged 60 to 80 years old, scientists hope that they will gain crucial understanding of the disease.

Yet another study in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease has found that drinking apple juice might improve the moods of those stricken with Alzheimer’s. Researchers had Alzheimer’s patients drink two glasses of apple juice every day, noted a marked improvement in the patients’ behavior. Although the apple juice did not have a strong effect on their memory functions, patients’ anxiety and delusions were reduced. Although the study did not offer any ultimate cure to Alzheimer’s, the research did highlight the importance of diet to slowing the effects of the disease.

These three studies offer important insights to the mysterious, puzzling makeup of Alzheimer’s disease.  By identifying risk factors, perhaps scientists will be able to uncover preventative treatments for the disease. Research about the links between nutrition and Alzheimer’s may also ease or slow down symptoms for people already affected.

A team of University of South Florida researchers experimented with 55 lab mice which were bred to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms by giving aged mice caffeine equivalent to five cups of coffee a day and discovered that the mice’s memory impairment was reversed. In medical terms, this happened because the caffeine substantially decreased the abnormal levels of beta amyloid, a protein that is linked to Alzheimer’s, in both the blood and brain of the mice.

These findings suggest that caffeine may be an effective form of not only prevention, but also treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. So maybe all it takes to prevent, or even reverse Alzheimer’s is your daily dose of coffee.