Non-invasive test for Alzheimer's disease

BOSTON, Aug 25, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists have developed a new dye that could offer non-invasive early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

The discovery could aid in monitoring the progression of the disease and in studying the efficacy of new treatments to stop it.

"Before you can cure Alzheimer's, you have to be able to diagnose it and monitor its progress very precisely," said study leader Timothy Swager. "Otherwise it's hard to know whether a new treatment is working or not."

MIT, in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh, developed a contrast agent that would first bind to the protein deposits, or plaques, in the brain that cause Alzheimer's, and then fluoresce when exposed to radiation in the near-infrared range.

The new dye could allow direct imaging of Alzheimer's plaques through a patient's skull.

The findings will be published in Friday's Angewandte Chemie.