New exams, treatments for Alzheimer's in the pipeline

Sometime in the near future, probably in our lifetime, a patient will be able to undergo a test that will identify the biological markers of Alzheimer's disease, much like cholesterol now serves as a biomarker for heart disease. Treatment will come in the form of a vaccine.

Such developments will be a huge breakthrough for a disease that today has no cure and can only be definitely diagnosed after death, when a patient's brain is autopsied. What's more, these tests and treatments aren't the stuff of science fiction.

"A ton of work is being done in the field," says Dr. Maria Carrillo, director of Medical and Scientific Relations for the Alzheimer's Association. "We are on the hunt for early detection tests that can be done in a general practitioner's office. And as far as medicines are concerned, we're looking at a very robust pipeline."

Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, afflicts as many as 5.2 million Americans. And as the population ages, the Alzheimer's Association expects half a million new cases a year, with 10 million baby boomers eventually developing the degenerative disease that is fatal. Mass marketing a test to identify the disease before patients develop clinical symptoms means that therapies, including drugs, may be able to stop the progression and preserve normal functions.

"I can't stress enough the importance of diagnosing early," says Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer's Division at the University of Miami at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. "The earlier we find out, the better the patient will do."

Isaacson and his staff recently launched a clinical trial looking at the amino acid, BMAA, in hair samples of Alzheimer patients and a control group. They are hoping to determine if the presence of this amino acid is a predictive of the disease, or a result of the degenerative process itself.

There is also hopeful talk of a vaccine. "In the vaccine trials, we are asking: Are there ways to immunize people to prevent accumulation of amyloid plaque?" says Dr. Ralph Sacco, chairman of University of Miami's Department of Neurology. "How much of memory loss is preventable?"

TESTS

Here are some of the more promising trials for diagnostic testing and therapy:

Blood tests: While researchers in numerous labs are focusing on predictive blood screening tests, the Alzheimer's Association singles out one that is farther along in clinical research trials. It targets lymphocytes, or white blood cells.