NEW ORLEANS — Curtailing the imminent rise in Alzheimer's disease (AD) will require early, accurate diagnostic tests and treatments, and researchers are closer to achieving these two goals. New findings in medical imaging, molecular analysis of neurological diseases, and development of treatments using mouse models were presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
AD is the most common cause of dementia and currently affects 5 million people in the United States. By 2015, this number could increase to 13 million people.
Today's new findings show that:
"Being able to detect AD early — perhaps even before symptoms begin — is an essential pre-condition if we are to develop effective treatments that slow or stop the changes that occur in the brain during Alzheimer's. Our studies in mice already tell us this," said press conference moderator Sam Gandy, PhD, MD, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, an expert on AD and dementia. "Being able to distinguish AD from other neurodegenerative diseases will help us give the right treatments to the right patients."
This research was supported by national funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, as well as private and philanthropic organizations.
Todd Bentsen, (202) 962-4086
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