To test for Alzheimer's, or not?

(a big market just in knowing what you've got)

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But so far, they are for research purposes only. Alzheimer's specialists may soon have a new set of tools for diagnosing the brain-wasting disease well before symptoms appear, but so far no effective treatments have been found, raising questions about how the tests should be used. Radioactive imaging agents that can light up Alzheimer's proteins on brain scans are already in late-stage clinical trials, led by privately held Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, General Electric's  GE Healthcare and Germany's Bayer. And a Belgian team this week said it was able to accurately spot early signs of Alzheimer's disease by measuring levels of disease-related proteins in spinal fluid. Alzheimer's experts largely agree the disease can be detected as many as 10 years before people show signs of serious memory impairments. But progress in developing drugs that arrest the fatal brain disease has been frustratingly slow, in part because drug studies largely involve patients whose brains are already wrecked by the disease. That's why diagnostics are so important, says Maria Carrillo, senior director of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association. They could be used to help structure better clinical trials of Alzheimer's drugs. Her group has joined forces with the National Institute on Aging to push for new diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease that would include a very early stage of the disease, long before symptoms appear. The changes, proposed at an Alzheimer's conference last month, are the first update of the criteria used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in more than 25 years. "None of these tests are currently available at a physician's office," Carrillo said in a telephone interview. "Until we conduct clinical trials under research auspices, we are not going to know if they are going to be accurate." Read more: alertnet.org

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Citrus extract shows benefits for diabetics

Daily supplements of citrus-derived flavanoids and limonoids may reduce risk factors for diabetes like glucose tolerance, suggests data from an animal and pilot study with humans.  Read more: nutraingredients.com

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