A brain scan or spinal tap can form suspicions. The new study's conclusions are upheld by work that may explain what is happening in the disease. This disease, which wrecks people's brains, affects 35 million people- a number expected to increase in the future. And on a sad note, it is incurable. Alzheimer's is very hard to detect until the person's behavior starts to change and he starts to lose his memory. But, at this point a lot of damage has already been done to his brain.
To the patient, early intervention with any drug that might work one day is better than waiting until behavior starts to change and memory loss occurs.
Howard Federoff, of Georgetown University Medical Center provides important research. His research identified ten molecules whose concentration in the blood predicted whether someone went on to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's within the next three years.
The molecules may also help show what is happening in the early stages of Alzheimer's. They are phospholipids, which are components of cell membranes. Why the disease reduces phospholipid levels in the blood is unclear, but those levels might easily reflect problems in the membranes of the affected brain cells.
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