Golden Sun eXtra Your Local News Source, Mohave County, AZ

For the first time in 25 years the way Alzheimer's and its early stages are diagnosed is changing. Leading researchers now say through a few simple test they may be able to detect it up to 10 years before the memory problems set in.

Dr. Dylan Wint of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas believes this will change the way doctor's view Alzheimer's. "Right now the way we diagnose Alzheimer's is at the end of the process, that starts probably 10 to 15 years before we make the diagnoses now"

The proposed new diagnostic criteria, would rely on advances in detecting biomarkers for the disease.

"We can look at the structure of the brain usually done by MRI or we can look at the function of the brain, which is done with something called a PET scans," said Dr. Wint.

There are also deposits that build up in the brain called amoliods and proteins in the spinal fluid that increase and decrease in a patient with Alzheimer's. The effort is to diagnose the disease as soon as possible so that patients can slow the progression and prevent further memory loss.

Doctors also believe that the cost of preventing the disease far out ways the cost of treating it after the fact and hopes that the new criteria will help in the fight for a cure for Alzheimer's.

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