Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
13/07/2012
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
The research is the gateway to new types of early treatment
A group of American scientists developed a technique to detect signs of Alzheimer's disease 25 years before present their first symptoms. The research is the gateway to new types of early treatment that can become the best chance of medicine to fight the illness.
Scientists at the School of Medicine, University of Washington, selected for this study were British, Americans and Australians who have genetic risk of developing the disease. Of the 128 patients examined, 50% have a chance of inheriting one of the three genetic mutations known to science that cause Alzheimer's disease.
The group also has increased chance of getting the disease to suffer from 30 or 40 years - much earlier than most Alzheimer's patients, who usually develop the evil in her 60s. The researchers analyzed the patients' parents to find out what ages they had developed the disease. From this began trying to assess how long before it was possible to detect the first signs of illness.
Were carried out blood tests, CSF (cerebrospinal fluid), brain imaging and also evaluations of mental abilities in patients. The researchers found, then it was possible to detect small changes in the brains of those who had some of the mutations that the future will lead to the emergence of Alzheimer's.
They suggest that the first change, a fall in levels of protein known as amyloid - a key component of neurons - in the cerebrospinal fluid, can be detected 25 years before the onset of disease symptoms. Around 15 years before the onset of the disease, patients already had abnormal levels of b-amyloid plaques. Additionally, images of the brain showed shrinkage in some regions of the brain of patients.
Ten years before the first symptoms were detected memory problems and an abnormal processing of glucose in the brain studied. In patients who had no mutations, no changes were detected in these markers. The research results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research director of the Alzheimer Society Clive Ballard said:
- This important research shows that key changes in the brain related to the genetic transmission of the disease occur decades before symptoms appear. This can lead to major implications for diagnosis and treatment in the future.
Eric Karran research director of the Alzheimer Society of British said:
- The results of patients with Alzheimer's inherited genetic factors seem to be similar to changes caused in non-genetic cases, the common form of the disease. It is likely that any new treatment for Alzheimer's should be started early to have the best chance of success. The ability to detect early stages of Alzheimer's disease not only allows people to plan and have access to care and treatment available sooner, but also allow new drugs are tested in the right people at the right time.
Source: Journal of Health
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.