Researchers Develop New Test to Predict Alzheimer's Disease (1/2)

Alzheimer's disease affects millions of people around the world. American researchers say the disease will affect more than one hundred million people worldwide by the year twenty fifty. That would be four times the current number.

Researchers and doctors have been studying Alzheimer's patients for a century. Yet the cause and cure for the mental sickness are still unknown. However, some researchers have made important steps towards understanding it.

Several early signs of the disease involve memory and thought processes. At first, patients have trouble remembering little things. Later, they have trouble remembering more important things, such as the names of their children.

There are also some physical tests that might show who is at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The tests look for proteins" class="hjdict" word="proteins" target=_blank>proteins in brain and spinal cord fluid" class="hjdict" word="spinal cord fluid" target=_blank>spinal cord fluid. The proteins appear to be found only in people with the disease. The protein tests correctly identify the presence of the disease in about 90% of patients.