Early Detection of Alzheimer's Through Cognitive Testing Prior to Symptom Manifestation
Orange County, CA - June 14th 2017 - An estimated 5 million people in the United States are currently living with Alzheimer's disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, this number could reach 16 million by the year 2050. There is no known cure for the disease, but Duke Han, PhD, with the Keck School of Medicine at USC, are screening for biomarkers signifying early onset of Alzheimer’s with cognitive testing.
"In the last decade or so, there has been a lot of work on biomarkers for early Alzheimer's disease," Han says. "There are new imaging methods that can identify neuropathological brain changes that happen early on in the course of the disease. The problem is that they are not widely available, can be invasive and are incredibly expensive. I wanted to see whether the cognitive tests I regularly use as a neuropsychologist relate to these biomarkers." Symptoms of Alzheimer’s can manifest long after irreversible biological changes have occurred in the brain.
Alzheimer’s symptoms emerge when amyloid plaques, clusters of protein fragments, along with tangles of protein specified as tau, form in the brain and burgeon, eventually impeding the brain's ability to function. Previous scanning of these blockers was limited to PET scans, but as previously discussed this method proved costly, obscure, and invasive. To put the neuropsychological measures to the test, Han and his colleagues directed a meta-analysis of 61 studies for adults over 50 with normal brain cognition.
The study, published in Neuropsychology Review, found that people with amyloid plaques performed more ineptly on neuropsychological tests of global cognitive function, language, memory, processing speed, and visuospatial ability than individuals without amyloid plaques. The study also found that people with tau pathology or neurodegeneration performed shoddily on memory tests in comparison to subjects with amyloid plaques. This study contradicts the previously held belief that there would be no difference between test subjects with and without Alzheimer’s disease.
Based on the results of the study, Han believes that cognitive tests will be integrated into standard annual checkups, especially for senior citizens. "Having a baseline measure of cognition before noticing any kind of cognitive change or decline could be incredibly helpful because it's hard to diagnose early Alzheimer's disease if you don't have a frame of reference to compare to," Han said. "If people would consider getting a baseline evaluation by a qualified neuropsychologist at age 50 or 60, then it could be used as a way to track whether someone is experiencing a true decline in cognition in the future."
Early detection is the only tool to battle Alzheimer’s. With enough notice, patients have the time to try different medications or interventions to slow disease progression. Han notes his recommendation of exercise and cognitive activity to patients due to studies showing a correlation between social activity and overall brain health improvement. The ultimate goal in combating this disease is to give patients enough preparation for proper care and postpone diagnosis.
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Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Through Cognitive Testing Prior to Symptom Manifestation Orange County, CA – June 14th 2017 – An estimated 5 million people in the United States are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, this number could reach 16 million by the year 2050. There is no known cure for […]