Welcome to the Dickerson Lab: Spinal fluid testing for diagnosis of AD
In August 2010, a team of researchers published a new study demonstrating the value of a test of spinal
fluid proteins for use as part of the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. It is important to clarify that
this is confirmation in one of the largest groups of participants to date of work that has been going on
for more than 10 years to use measures of several proteins in spinal fluid that are typically deposited in
the brain in AD and are visible under the microscope after death. The goal has been to determine how good
these spinal fluid measures are in living people for assisting in making a diagnosis of AD. It is very
important to note that this is currently being done in patients with dementia and cognitive impairment by
many of us as part of the evaluation that leads to a diagnosis. It is not a screening test for use in
people who do not have symptoms.
I
was interviewed on NECN TV on August 11 regarding this new research, which is important but is being
misinterpreted by some of the stories in the media. I strongly recommend that individuals or family
members who are concerned about memory or cognitive impairment seek an evaluation by an Alzheimer's
or memory specialist, since there are many possible causes for these problems and they deserve full
medical evaluation. For people who do not have symptoms but who are concerned about their possible
risk, I recommend volunteering for research on memory and aging (most major cities have centers
where studies are being conducted, see the Alzheimer's Association website for more information),
and encourage increased funding for the research that needs to be conducted in order to better
understand what it might mean if a cognitively normal individual has abnormalities suggestive of AD
in their brain or spinal fluid, which is at present a research question. Although AD is an common and
devastating disease that is a major cause of disability and death around the world, we know that it
may take at least a decade or more to develop in the brain before a person has symptoms, and we really
don't know how long a person might be able to live independently without symptoms despite having
Alzheimer brain changes, or what factors might influence how long such a "silent" stage might be present.
We do know that there are many individuals who die with AD in the brain but who do not have cognitive
impairment or dementia.
This report is closely related to the newly proposed diagnostic criteria for AD; more can be read
about that here.