Alzheimer test

By Rut López

American scientists have recently developed the first blood test to allow a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Details were published in File on Neurology in June 2010. Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease that affects approximately 800,000 Spanish people. The process begins 10 years before the symptoms appear.

The test measures the presence of a protein called clusterin. It is known that clusterin levels increase with age and that it is responsible for the loss of cognitive functions and it is associated with the development of the disease when it accumulates in the brain at high levels.

The study included people older than 70 years: 300 without any loss of memory, 200 with loss of memory for causes other than Alzheimer’s and 102 who had the disease. The results showed a relationship between positive tests and scans made 10 years earlier in patients suffering from the disease.

Pasqual Maragall disclosed that he suffered from Alzheimer’s disease in October 2007. Maragall's daily life was filmed for two years and he is the main character of the film Bicicleta, Cullera, Poma. This film, directed by Carles Bosch and screened for the first time at the 2010 International Film Festival of San Sebastian, shows Maragall and his family’s fight against the disease. Bicycle, spoon and apple (the title of the film) are words used in tests to detect the loss of memory.