Skin Test Could Detect Alzheimer's Disease Early

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The presence of inflammation around the amyloid clumps that form in the brain of Alzheimer's patients is well known, Gandy said. "Whether there is inflammation elsewhere in the body hasn't been established. The idea that this might be a systemic process hasn't been thoroughly investigated," he added.

Gandy said the theory is "unconventional, but it certainly is something that can be investigated by others."

"Technically, it looks perfectly sound," Gandy said of the published paper. "But certainly nothing in science is accepted until it is replicated. The real test of the pudding will be if others do the same experiment and get the same results. It would have to be robustly reproducible before we change the way we think about Alzheimer's."

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Having a test for early detection of Alzheimer's disease would be extremely valuable, both Alkon and Gandy said. "All the newest medications in clinical trials are aimed at the earliest stage of the disease," Gandy said.

"Drugs now are being tested on the basis of clinical diagnosis," Alkon said. "There is a major need for an early biomarker."

More information

A major source of information about Alzheimer's disease is the Alzheimers Association (www.alz.org ).

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