Free Research in Brief | February 01, 2015New Technique Identifies Early Alzheimer’s Author Notes © 2015 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Article Information Special Populations / Older Adults & Aging / Research in Brief Research in Brief | February 01, 2015 New Technique Identifies Early Alzheimer’s The ASHA Leader, February 2015, Vol. 20, online only. doi:10.1044/leader.RIB6.20022015.np The ASHA Leader, February 2015, Vol. 20, online only. doi:10.1044/leader.RIB6.20022015.np View Article Figures Tables Supplemental Data Supplements Multimedia Share Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest Tools Get Citation Citation New Technique Identifies Early Alzheimer’s. The ASHA Leader, 20(2), online only. doi: 10.1044/leader.RIB6.20022015.np. Download citation file: RIS (Zotero) EndNote BibTex Medlars ProCite RefWorks Reference Manager © 2018 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association × Alerts User Alerts You are adding an alert for: New Technique Identifies Early Alzheimer’s You will receive an email whenever this article is corrected, updated, or cited in the literature. You can manage this and all other alerts in My Account The alert will be sent to: Confirm × Sign In or Create a free account to receive alerts. × An interdisciplinary team of Northwestern University scientists and engineers has developed a noninvasive method to detect Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages, well before typical symptoms appear. The study appears in Nature Nanotechnology. Led by neuroscientist William L. Klein and materials scientist Vinayak P. Dravid, the team developed a brain imaging method that can detect the toxin that leads to Alzheimer’s disease. The probe pairs a magnetic nanostructure with an antibody that seeks out the amyloid beta brain toxins responsible for onset of the disease. The accumulated toxins appear as dark areas in MRI scans of the brain. This ability to detect the molecular toxins may one day enable scientists to spot trouble early—and to better design drugs or therapies to combat and monitor the disease. AD affects one out of nine people older than 65. The new technology detects toxic amyloid beta oligomers, which may appear more than a decade before amyloid plaques that current methods detect. Amyloid beta oligomers now are widely believed to be the culprit in the onset of AD and subsequent memory loss by attacking the synapses of neurons, destroying memory and ultimately resulting in neuron death. Over time, the amyloid beta starts to stick together, forming the amyloid plaques. The researchers also observed that the behavior of mice in trial with Alzheimer’s improved—even after receiving a single dose of the MRI probe. This finding suggests that the probe could be used not only as a diagnostic tool but also as a therapeutic one. 0 Comments Submit a Comment Submit A Comment Name Comment Title Comment Could not validate captcha. Please try again. You have entered an invalid code Submit Cancel Thank you for submitting a comment on this article. Close This feature is available to Subscribers Only Sign In or Create an Account × FROM THIS ISSUE February 2015 Volume 20, Issue 2 ‹ Issue › ADVERTISING DISCLAIMER|ADVERTISE WITH US Related Articles Language Development and Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Characteristics in Preschool Children With Cerebral Palsy Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, May 2017, Vol. 60, 1330-1338. doi:10.1044/2016_JSLHR-L-16-0281 The Impact of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on the Language Production of Healthy Adults and Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, December 2016, Vol. 1, 138-144. doi:10.1044/persp1.SIG2.138 A Summary of the Updated Criteria for Alzheimer's Disease Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, December 2016, Vol. 1, 117-121. doi:10.1044/persp1.SIG2.117 Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) Treatment Methods and Approaches for Alzheimer's Dementia Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, December 2016, Vol. 1, 122-128. doi:10.1044/persp1.SIG2.122 Interprofessional Care in the Management of Alzheimer's Dementia: Leaving Our Silos Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, December 2016, Vol. 1, 129-137. doi:10.1044/persp1.SIG2.129 ADVERTISING DISCLAIMER|ADVERTISE WITH US Related Topics Special Populations Older Adults & Aging