Researchers Develop Better Alzheimer's Test

Researchers at Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College have developed the first real diagnostic test for Alzheimer's Disease. Currently, diagnoses are dependent upon clinical judgment of a physician, which can sometimes have difficulty distinguishing between Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. In some cases, the diagnosis is not confirmed or rejected until the autopsy table, obviously far too late for any future treatments to do any good.

The new technique involves sampling cerebrospinal fluid for a panel of twenty-three protein biomarkers. The Cornell study combined cutting edge "proteomics" technology, detailed image analysis, and complex computational and statistical analyses to simultaneously compare 2,000 cerebrospinal fluid proteins from 34 patients with autopsy-proven Alzheimer's disease to those of 34 age-matched controls without the disease.

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