One of the many frustrations of Alzheimer’s disease is the difficulty in pinpointing just who has it. According to published research, as many as one in five people told they have Alzheimer’s are mislabeled. A definitive diagnosis can be made only after death, by an autopsy that reveals a distinctive buildup – known as amyloid plaques – in the patient’s brain. This week, however, the FDA will consider a new diagnostic test that may be able to identify those plaques through PET scans – a type of brain scan – on living patients.
via FDA to consider Alzheimers test for living patients – The Chart – CNN.com Blogs.
