January 11, 2008 – As many as 70% of cells that are important to memory have already stopped functioning when diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. If we could detect the signs earlier, perhaps we could stop the premature loss of these precious neurons?
This is precisely what researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute will apply.1 of Montreal, in 2008. Associated with an international research group on Alzheimer’s disease, they will test a new so-called “early” diagnosis which, they hope, could help to slow down the premature loss of cells that play. a role in memory.
In addition to using conventional evaluation tests, they will also rely on “the use of a to scan positrons2 which will be able to detect any trace of atrophy of the brain, ”explains Dr.r Serge Gauthier, director of the Alzheimer’s disease research unit at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.
This magnetic resonance imaging device will also detect certain metabolic changes typical of the disease. For example, it will be possible to observe whether certain parts of the brain, where there has been a significant loss of nerve cells, make less use of blood glucose.
Lumbar puncture could also be one of the tools to arrive at an early diagnosis, according to Dr.r Gauthier.
During 2008, researchers will therefore recruit people showing pre-Alzheimer’s symptoms: frequent loss of recent or short-term memory for at least six months and gradually, which family or relatives have witnessed.
These people will be monitored in order to establish “new therapies that could potentially delay and even slow down the progression of the disease,” said in a press release issued by the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.3. The study, also conducted in collaboration with the Montreal Neurological Institute, will span five years.
Early diagnosis: psychological support
The patient in whom the disease is detected will be accompanied throughout the research process, taking into account the psychological tests that he will have to overcome.
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“It should be understood that the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is not one that we can announce without psychological support for the patient, specifies Serge Gauthier. Because people will still be autonomous and independent, such a diagnosis will be experienced as a real disaster by many. “
But what follows is important because it aims to “offer something in exchange for treatments that can potentially slow down progression,” says Dr Gauthier.
Concretely, it is believed that drugs that can slow progression – primarily those that attack amyloid, a protein responsible for the disease – should be given sooner. The same goes for some vaccines.
Lifestyle changes could also save patients time. We think of special diets – enriched with omega-3s, for example – that reduce certain risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, including untreated hypertension, atherosclerosis of the brain, and silent cerebral thrombosis.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. To find out more about the Douglas Mental Health University Institute: www.douglas.qc.ca [consulté le 10 janvier 2008].
2. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medical imaging method that allows three-dimensional measurement of the metabolic activity of an organ thanks to the emissions produced by the positrons resulting from the decay of a radioactive product. , injected beforehand.
3. See the press release issued on January 8, 2008 at the following address: www.douglas.qc.ca [consulté le 10 janvier 2008].
