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Future testing for Alzheimer's disease could be as easy as providing your doctor with a urine specimen. Researchers at the School of Medicine are studying the physical markers in urine that may predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
As in other diseases, most of the interventions and treatments for relieving symptoms and preventing deterioration in Alzheimer's are more effective in the initial stages of the disease before damage has progressed. By establishing predictors for the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease, physicians will be able to detect it sooner and treat it earlier, even before symptoms appear.
Researchers are collecting urine samples from two groups of people between the ages of 50 and 85: those with probable Alzheimer's disease and people with no sign of the disease, to use for comparison. Samples are then sent to a lab on the East Coast where they are studied for physical markers that may indicate Alzheimer's.
First in line to participate in the current study was Dr. Linda Hay, principal investigator and director of the clinical trials unit in the department of psychiatry. "Being a part of this study was an easy way to contribute to Alzheimer's research," Hay said.
For more information about Alzheimer's research or to participate in the study, call the clinical trials unit in the department of psychiatry at 268-5385.