Possible spinal fluid test for early Alzheimer's disease

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study shows how amyloid protein is deficient in the spinal fluid of those who may develop dementia.
Alzheimer's disease is marked by the build-up of beta-amyloid protein in the brain. Such deposits are found on post-mortem. It's been argued that maybe the deposits - known as plaque - lead to a detectable fall in the levels of beta-amyloid in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Researchers at the University of Washington have set out to test this hypothesis.

They carried out CSF testing upon a group of 184 adults with no cognitive problems and with an average age of 50 years. They did find a decline in amyloid levels among those who were older and those carrying the APOE4 gene variant, which is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Of course, CSF testing is quite invasive but it may provide a basis, after further research, for screening those at high risk. An early diagnosis may help preventive or therapeutic measures to be started which might hold back the progression of the disease.

Source
Archives of Neurology July 2006 Volume 63 pages 936-939

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