Miami: MRI scans can be used to diagnose Alzheimers disease, even before the onset of symptoms of dementia, say researchers.
Alzheimers disease is currently diagnosed by a process of elimination as many other diseases cause similar symptoms, furthermore a diagnosis of Alzheimers disease cannot be confirmed until after the patient has died by autopsy.
However, results of a study by Ranjan Duara and colleagues at the Florida Alzheimers Disease Research Center (ADRC) has added to a growing body of evidence which suggests that MRI scans of the brain can be used to diagnose the neurodegenerative disease.
The researchers used a visual rating system to evaluate the extent of atrophy, or shrinkage, present on MRI scans in three parts of the medial temporal lobe of the brain which are vital for conscious memory.
They then compared the MRI brain scans of 260 people, which included people with probable Alzheimers disease, people with varying degrees of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and a control group of normal elderly with no symptoms of memory loss.
Results showed that by using the rating system they could accurately distinguish those with probable Alzheimers disease from those with MCI, and from those in the control group. Furthermore, the scans even enabled the researchers to identify brain atrophy in some participants who did not have symptoms of memory loss at the start of the study, but who went on to develop memory problems several years later.
Thus suggesting that MRI scans could enable doctors to identify those who will get Alzheimers long before they become symptomatic.
This study demonstrates that MRI brain scans are accurate enough to be clinically useful, both in diagnosing Alzheimers disease itself at an early stage and in identifying people at risk of developing Alzheimers, said Huntington Potter, PhD director of the Florida ADRC.