According to a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, neurologists were able to correctly diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in most cases. The autopsies shows that out of 137 patients diagnosed as having probable

At first beta-amyloid proteins were thought to be produced by the disease. But new studies are showing that this is a naturally occurring chemical. Since sufferers of Alzheimer’s have increased amounts of beta-amyloids being produced, scientists now want to find a drug to slow down the production of beta-amyloids in the brain, which they believe would stop the disease (Beardsley 14). This may require years and years of research, but is a giant step in eventually finding a cure for this disease.

Although imaging techniques can also detect the disease, they cannot be used routinely. Position Emission Topography, for example, takes several hours, uses highly specialized equipment, and involves injecting the patient with a radioactive isotope. This is not a routine procedure and it has its risks. Some non-burst MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) techniques can reveal changes in patients’ brains, but so far they have not proved helpful in diagnosis (Beardsley 12).

There is another type of imaging called burst MRI. It’s different from other techniques because it takes just a few minutes and it can be done with an ordinary scanner. It allows the entire brain to be imaged in less than two seconds, without radioisotopes (Beardsley 12). These scans from patients with probable Alzheimer’s show areas where blood flow is lower than in healthy people. So far, however, only eight patients have been studied. If the technique turns out to be helpful it would be easy to adopt because most patients who have suspected Alzheimer’s are given conventional MRI scans. But Potter says the problem with a scan is that it usually detects brain impairment in a later stage of the condition (Beardsley 12).

Some people find it foolish to waste so much time and money trying to find a way to detect a disease with no cure. However, there ar

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