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Sientists closing in on Alzheimer's tests Two studies may provide tools to focus on biological signs of the disease, in part of attempts to allow its early detection
Researchers are closing in on tests that can detect biological signs of Alzheimer's disease, an advance that would improve diagnosis and help in the search for treatments for the mind-robbing disease. A team at Eli Lilly and Co's newly acquired Avid Radiopharmaceuticals said on Tuesday its imaging agent was highly accurate as detecting a protein linked with Alzheimer's disease in a late-stage clinical trial. And a study led by Dr. Kristine Yaffe at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center suggests a blood test could predict if a patient is at risk for dementia years before symptoms occur. Both studies, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, focus on biological signs of disease, or biomarkers. They are part of a broad effort by researchers to detect early Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer's affects 26 million people globally and costs $604 billion to treat. It is diagnosed by symptoms, and only confirmed by examining the brain in an autopsy after death.