CHICAGO: Researchers have visualized the development of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain in living people using positron emission tomography, or PET scans, which they say will aid with its diagnosis and treatment.
Tau and beta-amyloid build-ups in the brain were seen in scans of healthy people and patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, showing the disease’s development and offering clues about how it progresses.
Alzheimer’s disease is typically diagnosed using several cognitive indicators, but there has been no way to verify the diagnosis until a patient dies, when Braak staging is used to determine tau deposition during an autopsy.
The researchers found they could see build-ups of both substances in the brain, which disrupt synaptic connections, and the formation of new memories and recall of old ones. Recent studies have shown the brain shows signs of the disease earlier in life, seeing build-ups in the brain as they happen could help doctors prevent or delay onset of the disease.
“Braak staging was developed through data obtained from autopsies, but our study is the first to show the staging in people who are not only alive, but who have no signs of cognitive impairment,” Dr. William Jagust, a professor at the University of California Berkeley’s School of Public Health. “This opens the door to the use of PET scans as a diagnostic and staging tool.”