New test can diagnose Alzheimer's, but raises questions

(CBS News) More than 5 million older Americans live with Alzheimer's disease and a new test can tell you ahead of time if you're going to get it. Until now, the test has only been available in research settings, but beginning this month patients have been able to get the test commercially when ordered by their doctors.

But with no cure for the disease in sight, some are asking: Why would you want to know?

Eighty-year-old Alex Dreyfoos has always had an exceptionally sharp mind. A graduate of MIT and Harvard, he won an Oscar for his work in video technology. He was also a recreational pilot.

It was flying that he first noticed his memory was slipping.

"I had my own Citation jet. ... I'd hear a control tower give me some instructions and I'd have to write it down where I'd never used to have to do that," Dreyfoos said.

Dreyfoos's mother had Alzheimer's and he feared the same fate. So he underwent genetic testing and a battery of tests for memory and brain function. The results suggested he had the disease. But then doctors at Mount Sinai School of Medicine told him about a new test that would tell him for sure.

He suspected he had Alzheimer's, he said, and "knew I was, as I say, not at the top of my game -- I was clearly worse as time went on."

Dreyfoos underwent a PET scan with a new radioactive dye that detects amyloid plaques in the brain, the hallmark of Alzheimer's. Prior to this test, that could only be confirmed at autopsy.

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Dr. Sam Gandy was part of a team that analyzed Dreyfoos's PET scan. Gandy said that he, too, had assumed Dreyfoos had Alzheimer's based on his story.

But why would patients want to know if they have a disease with no cure?

"They can seek out clinical trials," Gandy said. "They can think about doing more physical exercise. We know that physical exercise slows the progression."

In fact, the scan found no detectable plaques in Dreyfoos's brain -- meaning he does not have Alzheimer's.

"I was excited" by the discovery, Gandy said. "The chances of this happening -- the first scan being negative in this context -- are just infinitesimal. I was shocked beyond belief. You could knock me over with a feather."

Before this new test, Dreyfoos might have spent his last years falsely believing he had a terrible disease. Now doctors will look for a different cause for his memory issues. The cause might be something treatable -- another reason the test can be valuable.

Dreyfoos says the test has changed his outlook.

"I'm not trying to do as much 'What do I have to do to wrap up things,'" he said. "You know, my wife and I talked about possibly making other living arrangements. And I think that's all changed. We'll just take it one day at a time."

The new test is just coming into use, costs $3,250, and is not covered by Medicare. It raises several ethical issues -- such as how the results might be used by insurance companies and employers.

[Michael_Ellenbogen]

This is the most important work, I have ever completed. Please help me make this link below go viral. Please add it to twitter, Facebook, your web site and place it on other websites in comments sections. If this can become viral, this will definitely have a huge impact on Alzheimer's perception.

http://youtu.be/oXKO1Qr5qf0

Thanks for your support,

Michael Ellenbogen

[WisCT]

Positive diagnosis = dropped from health insurance. Who would want such a test?

[flounder91]

IT is not a question of whether or not you want to know. i know, i have tossed this question around time and time again with Alzheimer's and hvCJD, both of which are in my close family. however, science is showing more and more that the Alzheimer's disease is transmissible, actually, science has shown this for decades, but this science was _ignored_. if so, the medical, surgical, dental arena's will be a major source of this long incubating delibitating and fatal disease. so, in my opinion, to stop the spread, WE MUST KNOW!





Subject: [CJD-L] Alzheimer's disease and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy prion disease, Iatrogenic, what if ?

Proposal ID: 29403

Alzheimer's disease and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy prion disease, Iatrogenic, what if ?

Background

Alzheimer's disease and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy disease have both been around a long time, and was discovered in or around the same time frame, early 1900's. Both disease, and it's variants, in many cases are merely names of the people that first discovered them. Both diseases are incurable and debilitating brain disease, that are in the end, 100% fatal, with the incubation/clinical period of the Alzheimer's disease being longer than the TSE prion disease. Symptoms are very similar, and pathology is very similar. I propose that Alzheimer's is a TSE disease of low dose, slow, and long incubation disease, and that Alzheimer's is Transmissible, and is a threat to the public via the many Iatrogenic routes and sources. It was said long ago that the only thing that disputes this, is Alzheimer's disease transmissibility, or the lack of. today, there is enough documented science (some confidential), that shows that indeed Alzheimer's is transmissible. The risk factor for friendly fire, and or the pass-it-forward mode i.e. Iatrogenic transmission is a real threat, and one that needs to be addressed immediately.

Methods

Through years of research, as a layperson, of peer review journals, transmission studies, and observations of loved ones and friends that have died from both Alzheimer's and the TSE prion disease i.e. Heidenhain Variant Creutzfelt Jakob Disease CJD.

Results

The likelihood of many victims of Alzheimer's disease from the many different Iatrogenic routes and modes of transmission as with the TSE prion disease. TSE prion disease survives ashing to 600 degrees celsius, that's around 1112 degrees farenheit. you cannot cook the TSE prion disease out of meat. you can take the ash and mix it with saline and inject that ash into a mouse, and the mouse will go down with TSE. Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production as well. the TSE prion agent also survives Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes. IN fact, you should also know that the TSE Prion agent will survive in the environment for years, if not decades. you can bury it and it will not go away. TSE prion agent is capable of infected your water table i.e. Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area. it's not your ordinary pathogen you can just cook it out and be done with. that's what's so worrisome about Iatrogenic mode of transmission, a simple autoclave will not kill this TSE prion agent.

Conclusions

There should be a Global Congressional Science round table event (one of scientist and doctors et al only, NO CORPORATE, POLITICIANS ALLOWED) set up immediately to address these concerns from the many potential routes and sources of the TSE prion disease, including Alzheimer's disease, and a emergency global doctrine put into effect to help combat the spread of Alzheimer's disease via the medical, surgical, dental, tissue, and blood arena's. All human and animal TSE prion disease, including Alzheimer's should be made reportable in every state, and Internationally, WITH NO age restrictions. Until a proven method of decontamination and autoclaving is proven, and put forth in use universally, in all hospitals and medical, surgical arena's, or the TSE prion agent will continue to spread. IF we wait until science and corporate politicians wait until politics let science _prove_ this once and for all, and set forth regulations there from, we will all be exposed to the TSE Prion agents, if that has not happened already. what's the use of science progressing human life to the century mark, if your brain does not work?

Alzheimer's disease and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy prion disease, Iatrogenic, what if ?




Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Alzheimer's disease and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy prion disease, Iatrogenic, what if ?

Proposal ID: 29403



http://betaamyloidcjd.blogspot.com/2012/05/alzheimers-disease-and-transmissible.html



http://betaamyloidcjd.blogspot.com/



http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/




layperson

[KPeters_from_UK]

The fact that he remembers that he forgot certain items, issues, instructions, directions whatever means he never had Alzheimer's.

For example, if you misplace your glasses and can't find them...that is normal. You remember you had glasses and you remember you don't now. You just can't remember where you put them.

Now for Alzheimer's: you don't remember that you misplaced your glass because you don't even remember having glasses.

[nohater]

is this disease only a problem here in the USA? or is it all over the world? which nation state has the most reported cases of the disease and how are they dealing with it? there is no cure so assume there is research taking place but at what cost and who is paying the bill? cancer has no cure but there is ongoing research and treatments are in place so what about this disease?

[tabs4jms2]

How on earth can CBS make a comment about "how" an employer can use confidential medical information (which is a violation o the HIPA Health Information Portability Act)such as a diagnosis of an illness much less Alzheimers??????????????? Even Insurance Companies cannot violate that law. I'm sure it would intimidate any employee to think that thei employer has access to their health information.

[KPeters_from_UK]

It is happening now in a couple of States when a woman wants birth control. Her employer can approve or disallow her contraception medication. Do you understand now why the issue of birth control does indeed affect all of us?