Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified two new techniques to detect the progression of Alzheimer’s disease earlier. By catching Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms are apparent, physicians can prescribe treatments to slow down the disease progression. In one study, researchers identified abnormal structural changes in the brains of seemingly normal elderly that indicated mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. In a second study, researchers detected changes in cells that may help predict the transition from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease. The studies were presented this week at the 2008 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease. [continue reading…]

Every aging baby boomer listens for the footsteps of Alzheimer’s, and for good reason: It’s estimated that 10 million American boomers will develop the disease. The need to develop preventative strategies, ideally long before Alzheimer’s destructive, clinical symptoms appear, is critical.
 
In furthering the steps toward that goal, UCLA associate professor of neurology John Ringman and his colleagues confirm in the current issue of the journal Neurology that during Alzheimer’s earliest stages, levels of specific proteins in the blood and spinal fluid begin to drop as the disease progresses, making them potentially useful as biomarkers to identify and track progression long before symptoms appear. [continue reading…]

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have shown that mutations in two proteins associated with familial Alzheimer’s disease disrupt the flow of calcium ions within neurons. The two proteins, called PS1 and PS2 (presenilin 1 and 2), interact with a calcium release channel in an intracellular cell compartment. [continue reading…]