Researchers from the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine are nearing development of a blood test that can accurately detect the presence of Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disease, which would give physicians an opportunity to intervene at the earliest, most treatable stage. <\/p>\n
Robert Nagele, PhD, presented his team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most recent findings October 18 at OMED 15 in Orlando. Dr. Nagele\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work focuses on utilizing autoantibodies as blood-based biomarkers to accurately detect the presence of myriad diseases and pinpoint the stage to which a disease has progressed. By detecting Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disease long before symptoms emerge, Dr. Nagele hopes those with disease-related autoantibody biomarkers will be encouraged to make beneficial lifestyle changes that may help to slow development of the disease.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There are significant benefits to early disease detection because we now know that many of the same conditions that lead to vascular disease are also significant risk factors for Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. People found to have preclinical disease can take steps to improve their vascular health, including watching their diet, exercising and managing any weight and blood pressure issues to help stave off or slow disease progression,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Nagele said. <\/p>\n
While the cause of Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s remains elusive, it is clear that maintaining a healthy blood-brain barrier is a critical preventative measure. Diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke and being overweight jeopardize vascular health. As blood vessels in the brain weaken or become brittle with age, they begin to leak, which allows plasma components including brain-reactive autoantibodies into the brain. There, the autoantibodies can bind to neurons and accelerate the accumulation of beta amyloid deposits, a hallmark of Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pathology. <\/p>\n
The blood test developed by Dr. Nagele has also shown promise in detecting other diseases, including Parkinsons\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, multiple sclerosis and breast cancer. His team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s research on the role of autoantibodies explains that:\n<\/p>\n
In Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, the brain begins to change years before symptoms emerge. Detecting Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s antibodies at the preclinical stage would give patients an opportunity to work with their physician to make lifestyle changes or receive available treatments before they become symptomatic. Potentially, this early intervention could help those with preclinical Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s avoid or delay the most devastating symptoms. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153As osteopathic physicians, we constantly tell patients that a healthy lifestyle is the best medicine for preventing disease. We also know that many people tune out messages about nutrition and exercise until a health crisis gets their attention,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Jennifer Caudle, DO, assistant professor of family medicine at Rowan University. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think of a single patient who wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take steps to prevent the progression of Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s if they could directly affect their prognosis.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Today, there is no definitive FDA-approved blood test for Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, which affects an estimated 5.3 million Americans. It is among the top 10 causes of death in America. <\/p>\n
Dr. Nagele\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s research has been supported by grants from the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation.<\/p>\n
###<\/p>\n
\t<\/strong><\/p>\n About OMED 15<\/p>\n<\/p>\n OMED 15 is a five-day event offering clinical and research updates in 15 specialties, with an emphasis on osteopathic principles and practices. <\/p>\n The osteopathic philosophy of medicine takes a whole person approach to prevention, diagnosis and treatment, giving its practitioners a distinct model for clinical problem solving and patient education. OMED welcomes all health care professionals\u00e2\u20ac\u201c including MDs, nurse practitioners and physician assistants\u00e2\u20ac\u201cinterested in osteopathic medicine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s collaborative approach to increasingly complex medical issues. Researchers from the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine are nearing development of a blood test that can accurately detect the presence of Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disease, which would give physicians an opportunity to intervene at the earliest, most treatable stage. Robert Nagele, PhD, presented his team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most recent findings October 18 at OMED 15 in Orlando. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26360\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTo learn more about DOs and the osteopathic approach to medicine, visit http:\/\/www.DoctorsThatDO.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"