Brain scan is not an Alzheimer's test
(changes in the intensity of white matter)
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Scientists are developing a “30-second Alzheimer’s screening test” reported The Daily Telegraph. It said that such a test “could be available in as little as two years”.
This research has assessed white matter hyperintensities and cognitive performance in a younger population than previously studied, and has found associations between changes, in particular, brain areas and poorer performance, on some cognitive tasks. It is important to emphasise that this research has not developed a test for Alzheimer’s, as the newspapers have reported, or indeed any type of dementia. The population included in the study were healthy and the variations seen between individuals in performance on the cognitive tasks would likely still be within the normal range. Ultimately, it is not clear from this research whether the observed changes in white matter hyperintensity within midlife affect the likelihood that people will go on to have a dementia. Research testing this theory would need to follow a cohort over time rather than taking a one-off measure, as was the case in this study.
Other limitations of this study included its use of a one-off measurement in a relatively small number of participants. The information given regarding the participants’ medical history was also limited, and 16% of the participants did not provide any information on the severity and time of any head injuries they had received. Alzheimer’s is a disease based on characteristic features identified through brain scans and clinical examination, plus the exclusion of all other causes of dementia. The causes for Alzheimer’s disease are not firmly established and there remains no predictive test. Read more: miltonkeynes.co.uk
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