28 October 2009

Researchers Hope For Early Detection Of Alzheimer's

Lubbock Online

Doctor Sid O'Bryant is the director for rural health research at 
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He recently won 
an award for his research on Alzheimer's disease and rural health


It's hard for family doctors, let alone relatives and friends, to recognize when forgetfulness might hint of the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

But what if a simple blood test could catch the brain-ravaging illness when modern medicines help the most?

Sid O'Bryant, an assistant professor in neurology and director of rural health research at Texas Tech's Health Sciences Center, and researchers from four Texas universities hope to find telltale signs of the illness lurking in a patient's blood.

"If there was a blood test that accurately and reliably detected the disease in its earliest stages, this would allow many more patients to receive treatment early on when our current medications are most effective," O'Bryant said.

Alzheimer's disease breaks down healthy brain tissue, eventually interfering with a patient's ability to think, reason and remember.

More than 340,000 Texans will suffer from Alzheimer's disease by 2010, according to the Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium.

Twice that many patients will face the disease over the next two decades, according to the consortium.

But the slight forgetfulness and occasional confusion that signify the early symptoms can be easy to miss. A full diagnosis requires a medical examination, tests on the brain and the nervous system and brain imaging, O'Bryant said.

"It takes a clinician with expertise in dementia syndromes to recognize the early signs (of Alzheimer's disease)," he said.

O'Bryant and his colleagues at HSC think an Alzheimer's test would help doctors diagnose the disease and researchers design new therapies and identify variations of the disease that might respond better to different treatments.

By joining a consortium of four other Texas institutions - Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio - the Lubbock researchers recently secured part of a $6.85 million grant to find Alzheimer's disease "markers" in the blood and genes, and use them to improve diagnosis and treatment.

The 35-year-old researcher, who graduated from University of Albany, State University of New York, hunts for blood proteins that point to early signs of the disease. The 500 patients already in the ongoing study have helped him find some proteins related to Alzheimer's and a new way to measure how the disease progresses, he said.

His work on Alzheimer's disease, as well a broader study on the health of people in two rural West Texas counties, earned O'Bryant a 2009 Early Career Award from the National Academy of Neuropsychology, which recognizes research excellence achieved within 10 years of completing formal training, according to the organization's Web site.

"The finalists this year were all well qualified," said Chris Higginson, chair of the awards committee. "But Dr. O'Bryant's credentials were particularly impressive. The (consortium) is fortunate to have him as a member of their clinical team."

Jim Hinds, project coordinator of the consortium, called O'Bryant's work a "ground breaking" effort toward identifying early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

"He is a gifted researcher," Hinds said.

Local Alzheimer's disease patients ages 50 and older can be part of the Alzheimer's study, O'Bryant said.

Those in the study receive a two-hour consultation, a memory and thinking test, and a blood draw. They will be asked to come back for an annual check up, he said.

O'Bryant said while his work focused on basic biology, he hopes a better understanding of the disease will improve treatment options.

"Our currently available medications for Alzheimer's disease slow progression, which is very important in prolonging life quality (but) they do not halt or reverse the disease process," he said. "We are hoping that a better understanding of the biological pathways associated with the disease will lead to novel treatments that halt progression."

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