BWH Presents Two Promising Diagnostic Tests to Detect Alzheimer's Disease in its Early Stages
Non-invasive tests of the human eye could someday lead to early indicators of devastating disease
Boston and Tucson, AZ -- Brigham and Women's Hospital's (BWH) Lee Goldstein, MD, PhD, in one of the most promising sessions at the 89th Optical Society of America Annual Meeting, will be presenting information about two optical tests that could someday be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in its early stages - a disease in which early screening tests continue to elude scientists. These tests may not only improve patients' chances to start treatment earlier, but they could also speed development of new Alzheimer's drugs.
Goldstein is available to media both before and during the meeting. Details below.
Presentation: Non-Invasive Optical Tools Hold Significant Promise For Detecting Alzheimer's in Early Stages
Frontiers in Optics 2005
The 89th Optical Society of America Annual Meeting
October 16-19, 2005
Tucson, Arizona
Goldstein and colleagues have developed two tests that have grown out of recent stunning findings that Alzheimer's disease can be detected early by looking for amyloid beta proteins - a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease found in the brain - in the lens of the eye and its surrounding fluid. The researchers also discovered that the amyloid beta proteins in the lens produce a very unusual cataract, formed in a different place in the eye than common cataracts (which are not at all associated with Alzheimer's
Details of the two tests include:
- Using a technique known as quasielastic light scattering, the first test employs low-power infrared laser light to noninvasively detect protein particles in the specific part of the lens where these unusual cataracts form.
- The second test would be applied to those who screen positively for the proteins, in order to confirm an Alzheimer's diagnosis. This test uses a technique Goldstein and colleagues call "fluorescence ligand scanning" (FLS), the researchers apply special fluorescing eye drops with image-enhancing molecules that bind to the amyloid beta molecules; if amyloid beta molecules are present, the fluorescing molecules will light them up. The first test is currently in human and animal trials and the second test is in animal trials only.
According to Goldstein, these two technologies could someday be used to develop new tests for rapidly detecting amyloid plaques resulting from prion diseases, including mad cow, scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in humans.
Please contact BWH Media Relations for more information at (617) 534-1600 or BWHMediaRelations@partners.org.
BWH is a 747-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare System, an integrated health care delivery network. BWH is committed to excellence in patient care with expertise in virtually every specialty of medicine and surgery. The BWH medical preeminence dates back to 1832 and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, dedication to educating and training health care professionals, and strength in biomedical research. With $370M in funding and more than 500 research scientists, BWH is an acclaimed leader in clinical, basic and epidemiological investigation - including the landmark Nurses Health Study, Physicians Health Studies, and the Women's Health Initiative. For more information visit www.brighamandwomens.org
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