7 September 2001 News Update

BRAIN SCANS GIVE EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF ALZHEIMER'S

People destined to suffer memory loss and senility could learn their fate in advance, thanks to a new technique involving brain scanning.

New Scientist (8 September) reports Mony de Leon of the New York University School of Medicine and colleagues found that several years before the symptoms of Alzheimer's set in, part of the brain starts using less glucose. The researchers studied 48 apparently healthy volunteers in their 60s, 70s and 80s.

At the start of the study all the volunteers achieved normal scores on a number of cognitive tests, but when tested again three years later, 13 did considerably worse. One was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, while the remaining 12 were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.

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