Stanford University Develops Test to Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease

Scientists at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California have announced they have developed a blood test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. The test, developed by Satoris., Inc, is based on 18 proteins in blood plasma; in small trials the test has been found to be 90% accurate.

Currently Alzheimer's is often misdiagnosed; a true diagnosis is available only at autopsy via analysis of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Current diagnostic techniques are imperfect and include memory tests such as repeating groups of words, names, and numbers, doing simple calculations, naming objects in the room, and tests of problem solving skills and concentration. Physicians analyzing a patient for Alzheimer's also often perform the following medical tests: EEG, MRI, CT, PET, and SPECT. A blood test for a gene known to be a risk for Alzheimer's is also utilized

The clinical test to diagnose Alzheimer's developed by Satoris, Inc. may be available for use in patients within several years; A definitive test for early diagnosis will be of enormous importance as medications are under development to slow down the prognosis of Alzheimer's. .

Once the Alzheimer's diagnostic blood test is in clinical use it will allow physicians analyzing patients with memory problems to know if the patient will progress to Alzheimer's disease in the next few years. Over 5.1 million Americans currently have Alzheimer's. If larger-scale tests prove the test developed at Stanford to be an accurate gauge of incipient Alzheimer's, it will dramatically improve the ability of doctors to definitively diagnose Alzheimer's. Then patients and families will have to struggle with the issue of when and if they want to take the test and receive the news of upcoming Alzheimer's. Many families will be faced with very tough decisions about how to proceed once a definitive warning of Alzheimer's is received.

More information about the test to diagnose Alzheimer's is available at the British journal: Nature Medicine and will also soon be on the website: www.Nature.com.

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