Memory loss not enough to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease

Memory loss not enough to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease
Only the clinical symptoms of memory loss alone shouldn't be relied on to diagnose Alzheimer's disease.

During the initial phase of PPA, memory and other thinking abilities are relatively intact. Also, PPA can be caused either by Alzheimer’s disease or another neurodegenerative disease family called Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). The study demonstrated that knowing an individual’s clinical symptoms was not enough to determine whether PPA was due to Alzheimer’s or any other neurodegenerative disease — where progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, including death of neurons happen. Therefore, an amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) scan — an imaging test — should be taken. PET scan tracks the presence of amyloid — an abnormal protein whose accumulation in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. PET scan should be used in early life to determine the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease pathology in later life, the researchers said in the study published online in the journal Neurology . (Read: Scientists discover protein that may be effective in treating Alzheimer’s)

Source: IANS

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