Skin Test For Alzheimer's Disease

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

30 Aug 2006 01:00 PM

Researchers are working on a new test to help detect Alzheimer's disease in its early stages. The skin test is being worked on by folks at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute at the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center.

The concept behind the new test is this: Alzheimer's disease doesn't only affect the brain. The disease has an impact on the entire body.

The new skin test for Alzheimer's looks at two different enzymes that affect proteins in the brain. These proteins are typically found in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease; the enzymes are out of balance in the body as the disease progresses. People who do not have the disease (even people who suffer from other kinds of dementia) may have the same proteins and/or enzymes, but not in such large amounts.

Exposing skin cells to a molecule called bradykinin can reveal the imbalance of enzymes. A first study had good results when used on sixty tissues samples; a second study tested a hundred people. Both studies showed a correlation between the enzyme imbalance and the progression of the disease. The sooner the test is done, the larger the imbalance is.

The next phase of testing the skin test will look at thousands of people and tissue samples. Researchers are hopeful that the good results from early studies will be replicated in larger studies by other groups. But most experts agree that there is a need for an early detection test. The majority of Alzheimer's medications currently in trial are aimed at the early stages of the disease. However, these medications won't be much use without an accurate early detection test. If the skin test is a success, it has the potential to help a lot of people slow or stop memory loss before it gets too bad.

Not sure if you or a loved one is dealing with Alzheimer's? Look at other types of memory loss here.

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