Skin Test for Alzheimer's Disease?

Ivanhoe Newswire
Thursday, August 17, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A simple, painless skin test may be the newest way to find out if someone has Alzheimer's disease. Before now, the only way to confirm a diagnosis of Alzheimer's was with an autopsy after death.

Scientists at Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) in Morgantown, W.V., have found some enzymes that react abnormally only in the skin of patients who have Alzheimer's disease. They say this could lead to a test a nurse or technician could easily do in a doctor's office or outpatient clinic.

The BRNI researchers discovered a biomarker that can accurately distinguish between Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia during the first one to two years of the disease's progression. The biomarker is highly accurate and could also potentially be used with blood samples.

"When it begins, Alzheimer's disease is often difficult to distinguish from other dementias or mild cognitive impairment," says Daniel L. Alkon, M.D., study co-author and scientific director at BRNI. "Potential treatments of Alzheimer's, however, are likely to have their greatest efficacy before the devastating and widespread impairment of brain function that inevitably develops after four or more years."

Researchers found Alzheimer's disease stimulates a change in the enzyme, MAP Kinase ERK-1 and ERK-2. The enzyme's response to a common inflammatory signal, bradykinin was different in skin cells of Alzheimer's patients than those with other dementias.

Researchers say more studies are now needed to see if their results can be replicated.

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SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online Aug. 14, 2006