Test identifies Alzheimer’s early signs

A TEST to help identify the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease has been developed by researchers at Trinity College Dublin (TCD).

The publication of their findings marks the second breakthrough in the battle against the disease in recent months by the team at the university’s Institute of Neuroscience and Tallaght Hospital in Dublin.

The research, unveiled by TCD’s chair of psychiatry Professor Harald Hampel, is a test based on cerebrospinal fluid to detect early Alzheimer’s disease. It measures an enzyme for which high levels indicate the significant genetic risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease, found in 90% of sufferers under the age of 80.

“This is especially valuable for the clinical prognosis of whether an elderly person with beginning mild cognitive impairment may be healthy or develop Alzheimer’s disease within a few years,” said study author Dr Michael Ewers.

The findings pave the way for an accurate diagnostic tool to significantly improve early detection.

Last December, a TCD study published in leading clinical journal Neurology identified a biological marker in the brain as a significant predictor of cognitive decline and linked it to Alzheimer’s.

The Institute of Neuroscience and National University of Ireland Galway began a €14.6 million Alzheimer’s research project last year to find therapies for treatment of the disease. They are teaming up with pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and working with hundreds of Irish volunteers to identify early indicators and develop treatments.