Originally published June 23 2005
Study finds tests which can predict Alzheimer's five to 10 years before it manifests
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
According to Canada.com, scientists found simple memory tests -- such as delayed verbal recall -- could accurately predict Alzheimer's disease in patients from five to 10 years before actual onset of the affliction.
Simple memory tests appear to predict with a high degree of accuracy those people who will go on to develop Alzheimer's disease within five to 10 years, a study suggests.
Previously, cognitive testing could red-flag those at high risk for Alzheimer's just two years before the onset of symptoms, said Mary Tierney of Sunnybrook and Women's Health Sciences Centre, the study's lead investigator.
The 10-year study of 1,000 Canadians aged 65 or older found that one test - called delayed verbal recall - could predict with 70 per cent accuracy those participants who would develop the progressive neurological disease within a decade.
Researchers had even greater accuracy in predicting who would get the disease five years before onset, using delayed verbal recall plus two other tests: one in which a respondent is asked to name as many animals as possible and a general information test, which asks such questions as "Who is the current premier of Ontario," Tierney said.
"In many ways, it probably reflects what Alzheimer's disease is," said Tierney, whose study is published this week in the journal Neurology.
In the earlier stages, Alzheimer's primarily affects more immediate memory.
Later, other areas of the brain are affected, said Tierney.
"So not only do you have immediate memory, you have long-term memory that's being affected, as well as just the ability to generate words to a category (animals)."
The researchers employed a complex equation in their analysis, which took into account a participant's age and education.
"We already know that age and education are good predictors of dementia, meaning that the older you get and the less education you have, the more likely you are to develop dementia," said Claude Messier, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Ottawa.
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