New Alzheimer's disease research reported

CHICAGO, Aug 31, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Northwestern University researchers say they've found a way to detect and estimate size and structure of a protein suspected of causing Alzheimer's disease.

The findings, researchers say, might help scientists better understand the underlying mechanisms of the disease and lead to the development of new treatments to slow or arrest its progression.

They said their findings might also potentially be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in living people instead of during an autopsy, said Amanda Haes, a co-author of the study. At present, Alzheimer's can only be accurately diagnosed by examining the brain after death.

Haes, a postdoctoral researcher at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, conducted the study while she was a graduate student at Northwestern under the direction of Richard Van Duyne.

The findings were presented Wednesday during the 230th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.