Scientists seek answers to Alzheimer's disease

Last updated 11:54 27/07/2009

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Otago University researchers are using a powerful MRI scanner to map the flow of blood around the brains of Alzheimer's sufferers.

They have been able to link areas which showed reduced blood flow to some of the well-known effects of the disease.

Without the MRI – held at the Van der Veer Institute in Christchurch – the tests would require patients to be exposed to radioactive chemicals then placed in a PET scanner, chief scientist Dr Michael MacAskill said.

The study was also investigating which areas of the brain were activated by fast eye movements as Alzheimer's affects the way eyes move.

"This new approach to safely measure brain blood flow through MRI may enable physicians and scientists to distinguish between different kinds of dementia" Dr MacAskill said.

"This could then be useful in diagnosis, predicting the progress of the disease, and monitoring the effectiveness of treatments."

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia in New Zealand affecting 38,000 people, or 8 per cent of the population over 65. Those numbers were expected to triple over coming years as the population ages.

-NZPA

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