Reading the brain for Alzheimer's
One day soon, you may be able to request an Alzheimer's screening from your doctor to look for early signs of the disease.
Researchers are intent on finding a way to spot markers for the onset of this memory-devastating condition. The hope is that early diagnosis will be matched with newer treatments as they're developed and become available.
Participants in a recent study had their brain activity scanned, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), as they performed a memory task.
Thirteen of the patients had mild Alzheimer's, 34 had mild cognitive impairment, and 28 had no mental impairment (and were on average 73 years old) at the start of the study.
For those who had Alzheimer's or mild mental impairment, the fMRI showed impaired activity in the medial temporal lobe, the area of the brain responsible for turning on during a memory task. When this part of the brain is activated to do the memory work, it in turn causes the part of the brain (the posteromedial cortex) responsible for personal memory to be suppressed. For these patients, this did not occur.
This signals a general breaking down of the memory process. With the brain not turning on and off when it's supposed to, it's a functional problem rather than a structural one that may potentially be used as a marker. Also, the brain's inability to turn off when it's supposed to was considered by the researchers to be a more sensitive marker than its inability to turn on in certain regions.
Alzheimer's will continue to be researched heavily, as doctors scurry to keep up with what is estimated to be a great influx of newly diagnosed patients.
I will keep you posted on the latest developments that bring us closer to an answer as to how we'll hopefully be able to eventually thwart this memory thief.
