Measuring Stick: Spinal tap test tracks Alzheimer’s compound
By Nathan Seppa
Scientists point to high concentrations of amyloid-beta in the brain as the chief culprit in Alzheimer’s disease. But they don’t know whether the increased amounts of this peptide arise from its overproduction or from a failure of the body to dispose of an excess.
In the July Nature Medicine, researchers describe a test that enables them for the first time to track amyloid-beta production and clearance in cerebrospinal fluid in people.
While other researchers have used spinal taps to provide a snapshot of amyloid-beta concentrations (SN: 2/18/06, p. 102: Available to subscribers at Looking Ahead: Tests might predict Alzheimer’s risk), measuring the ongoing production and disposal of the peptide could provide insights into the origins of Alzheimer’s and lead to advances in diagnosis and treatment, says study coauthor Randall J. Bateman, a neurologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.