Tools to Test Alzheimer Therapies

Alzheimer's Association
Wednesday, 20 March 1996

Recent studies report a potential tool for detecting early signs of Alzheimer's disease, and gives additional evidence that Alzheimer's may start years before the onset of its debilitating symptoms, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

One published study indicates that people whose genetic makeup suggested they are at high risk for Alzheimer's, but who are not yet showing symptoms, have PET abnormalities in the same brain regions as people who have Alzheimer's disease. Positron emission tomography, or PET, is an imaging technique that provides information about the brain's use of energy.

"If this study is correct, PET scans could prove an important tool to test the effectiveness of potential treatments to slow the progression of Alzheimer's," said Zaven Khachaturian, Ph.D., director of the Association's Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute.

According to Khachaturian, testing treatments is essential to determine whether, and to what degree, they may slow or delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The study is "an important confirmation of earlier findings," Khachaturian said. "It gives us another piece of evidence that Alzheimer's disease starts attacking the brain before we see outward symptoms."

The study, "Preclinical Evidence of Alzheimer's Disease in Persons Homozygous for the e4 Allele for Apolipoprotein E," is published in the March 21, 1996 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine by Eric Reiman, M.D., and colleagues at the Good Samaritan Medical Center, Phoenix, Ariz. Dr. Reiman is a board member of the Alzheimer's Association's Greater Phoenix Chapter.

The Reiman study confirms in those with mild memory problems earlier published work by Gary Small, M.D., of UCLA, and Allen Roses, M.D., of Duke University Medical Center, and extends the findings to people who had no symptoms. The findings of these studies must be validated with larger numbers of patients, Khachaturian said. Reiman emphasized that the techniques are for research use only, and not for clinical use to predict or assess an individual's risk of developing Alzheimer's.

PET studies find that persons with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease have reduced glucose metabolism in several brain regions, and that these reductions progress during the course of the illness.

The Alzheimer's Association is the largest national voluntary health organization dedicated to research for the causes, treatments, prevention and cure of Alzheimer's disease and to providing education and support services to the four million Americans with the disease, their families and caregivers. You can reach the Alzheimer's Association at (800) 272-3900.

For more information, or to contact Alzheimer's Association, see their website at: www.alz.org