British Doctors Offer 10 Minute Test For Alzheimer’s
Britain's doctors are piloting a new test in their surgeries that gives early warnings of Alzheimer's in patients as young as 50. Using touch screen computers or an i-phone, the new test can distinguish between normal forgetfulness and the more dangerous memory lapses that could signal the onset of the debilitating disease.
The test has been designed by Cambridge scientists and could soon be in widespread use if trials are successful, becoming part of a national screening programme.
If the early signs of Alzheimer's are detected, patients will undergo brain training, a change in diet and take more exercise in order to keep their brain healthy for as long as possible. It is widely believed that drugs will be available within the next ten years that will be capable of stopping Alzheimer's outright on detection, so those caught early enough now may never need to fully develop the condition.
Professor Barbara Sahakian, co-inventor of the now called Cantab Test said: €You want to detect Alzheimer's before the damage is done, before you can't work any longer and before you can't hold down your family responsibilities and relationships.
Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia affect more than 800,000 Britons, a number expected to double within the next generation. €
The new test is designed to test a patients Episodic Memory more than anything else, this being the memory function used to remember a shopping list or where a car has been parked on a car park (parking lot, if you're American). The new test's software contains a series of tasks which include memorising the location of objects and bringing them back into focus when asked a few seconds later.
The test is capable of working specifically with certain patient's criteria, such as age, sex, and education. Failing patients will be referred to specialist clinics for accurate diagnosis and treatments.
Present treatment includes the patient taking tablets such as Aricept. Whilst drugs like this cannot cure Alzheimer's, they do increase attention span and concentration, allowing patients with early signs of the disease to carry on with a normal life for longer.
Several companies are working to develop so called neuroprotective medicines that could stop Alzheimer's completely, making the possibility of preventing patients from developing the disease a very real one. Other scientists have developed specialist software that can be used for home tests, as well as developing specialist blood tests and screening processes that detect the early onset symptoms of the disease.
Incredibly, according to Dr Anne Corbett of the British Alzheimer's Society, an amazing 60 percent of Alzheimer's and dementia patients never receive a diagnosis. Finding ways of improving early detection of this disease therefore becomes essential.
The test has been designed by Cambridge scientists and could soon be in widespread use if trials are successful, becoming part of a national screening programme.
If the early signs of Alzheimer's are detected, patients will undergo brain training, a change in diet and take more exercise in order to keep their brain healthy for as long as possible. It is widely believed that drugs will be available within the next ten years that will be capable of stopping Alzheimer's outright on detection, so those caught early enough now may never need to fully develop the condition.
Professor Barbara Sahakian, co-inventor of the now called Cantab Test said: €You want to detect Alzheimer's before the damage is done, before you can't work any longer and before you can't hold down your family responsibilities and relationships.
Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia affect more than 800,000 Britons, a number expected to double within the next generation. €
The new test is designed to test a patients Episodic Memory more than anything else, this being the memory function used to remember a shopping list or where a car has been parked on a car park (parking lot, if you're American). The new test's software contains a series of tasks which include memorising the location of objects and bringing them back into focus when asked a few seconds later.
The test is capable of working specifically with certain patient's criteria, such as age, sex, and education. Failing patients will be referred to specialist clinics for accurate diagnosis and treatments.
Present treatment includes the patient taking tablets such as Aricept. Whilst drugs like this cannot cure Alzheimer's, they do increase attention span and concentration, allowing patients with early signs of the disease to carry on with a normal life for longer.
Several companies are working to develop so called neuroprotective medicines that could stop Alzheimer's completely, making the possibility of preventing patients from developing the disease a very real one. Other scientists have developed specialist software that can be used for home tests, as well as developing specialist blood tests and screening processes that detect the early onset symptoms of the disease.
Incredibly, according to Dr Anne Corbett of the British Alzheimer's Society, an amazing 60 percent of Alzheimer's and dementia patients never receive a diagnosis. Finding ways of improving early detection of this disease therefore becomes essential.
