2-20-15 National:Alzheimer's disease is no respecter of fame or fortune. Former US president Ronald Reagan had it. Legendary AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young has been diagnosed. Hazel Hawke suffered until her death in 2013. And author and broadcaster Anne Deveson is experiencing the distressing progression of Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, a group of brain disorders affecting thinking and memory.
There is no way to spot Alzheimer's early, no effective treatment and no known cure. However, a neurochemist at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Dr Dominic Hare, and his colleagues are homing in on a biomarker, or disease indicator, to help diagnosis.
Moreover, Dr Hare – who is also with the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City – says the team's work promises to help reveal the cause of the baffling disorder.
"The disease develops so slowly and has so many effects on the body, being able to separate what's cause and what's effect is a big problem," he says. "If we can identify why the disease is happening, we could intervene to alleviate the symptoms and potentially halt the disease process." ..Continued..
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