Mapping Alzheimer's

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LOS ANGELES (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Though there’s no cure for Alzheimer's disease, the earlier it’s diagnosed, the more effectively it can be treated. The problem is there’s never been a conclusive way to diagnose the disease’s progression … until now.

It took dedicated researchers, and a super computer, to produce this seven-second video image. What it reveals may change the future of Alzheimer's disease.

“You actually get a physical picture of how the devastation of Alzheimer's is spreading across the brain, which parts of the brain are affected, and how fast,” says Paul Thompson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The sequence is actually a composite of a dozen patients who had MRIs over a year and a half. This computer combined the brain scans into a moving image. The red areas show brain cells dying.

Thompson says: "Memory areas lose tissue first. That makes sense because memory is the first to go. Then the emotional areas of the brain, and the areas involved in self control, are the next to go.”

For people like Ray Averill, the new technology could buy time. He's showing early signs of what may be Alzheimer's. “Verbally when I want to talk, I will have difficulty getting the right word out. Though I know what the word is, my mouth won’t say the right thing,” he says.

If Averill does have early Alzheimer's disease, the new technology could help get him the treatment he’ll need to slow the progression. “They’ll be able to make the change and say, ‘Oh, this isn’t gonna be able to work on him. See what’s happened here. Now we’ll try this one,'” says Averill.

Researchers say that may now be possible, thanks to these images that are catching Alzheimer's red-handed.

Alzheimer’s disease kills off brain cells at a rate of 5 percent to 10 percent a year. As many as 7 million Americans have the disease.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information, please contact:

UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
710 Westwood Plaza, Room 2238
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769
(310) 206-5238
adc@ucla.edu

Paul Thompson, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles
David Geffen School of Medicine
4328 Reed Neurology
710 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769
thompson@loni.ucla.edu
http://www.loni.ucla.edu/~thompson/thompson.html