Memory: New Frontiers -- Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease With A Skin Test

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Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease With A Skin Test

 

 

 

In recent studies, researchers have identified chemical changes that

occur in Alzheimer’s disease, opening the door to a possible skin test to

diagnose Alzheimer’s in the not too distant future.

 

Although only an autopsy can prove the presence of Alzheimer’s

disease, the clinical diagnosis is usually accurate. The current approach

to establishing the cause of memory loss involves ruling out some

potential causes and finding evidence to confirm the presence of others.

Once other conditions, such as depression, Huntington’s disease, or

hypothyroidism, have been ruled out, the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is made

by accumulating information on the individual’s history, mental status

exams, and interviews with the patient, family members, and friends over

a period of several weeks.

What’s on the horizon? Researchers have identified chemical changes

that occur in Alzheimer’s disease but not in other forms of dementia.

Because the specific chemical signals can be detected in both brain and

skin cells of Alzheimer’s patients, this opens the door to a possible

skin test for Alzheimer’s .

In the study, which was reported in the Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences (Volume 103, page 13203), researchers compared

human skin cells from a tissue bank with autopsy samples from people who

had Alzheimer’s disease. As it turned out, the skin tissues from the

Alzheimer’s patients were distinguished by changes in two related enzymes

that are involved in inflammatory signaling pathways. Inflammation is

believed to play an important role in the development of Alzheimer’s

disease.

A skin test would have many advantages over a spinal tap or brain

scan - -- two tests currently used to aid doctors in the diagnosis of

Alzheimer’s disease. If such a test is eventually developed, it could be

administered on an outpatient basis, in a clinic or physician’s office.

More important, it could be given early in the course of Alzheimer’s,

when it’s often difficult to determine whether a person has Alzheimer’s

or another degenerative neurological condition. The earlier an accurate

diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is obtained, the earlier treatment can begin.

That’s important because current medications are effective only when

given early in the disease process.

 

 

 

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