Alzheimer's advances

Regarding the July 14 article on Alzheimer's disease diagnosis:

The absence of diagnostic tests for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias has led to clinical uncertainty. It is common to say that the symptoms reported and problems documented in the clinic follow a pattern and course that resemble Alzheimer's and that the diagnosis is "probable Alzheimer's disease." However, proof of diagnosis is nearly always lacking, and this often results in physicians' verbalizing the diagnosis long after it is suspected.

We are getting increasingly close to having biomarkers of disease that will give doctors the evidence that has been missing, thereby allowing us to make a diagnosis much earlier. Once we have these tests, we will experience a rapid change in how Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed and managed by primary care physicians.

The big area of uncertainty, of course, is whether more effective treatments will emerge to match this improved diagnostic capability. Progress has been disappointingly slow. Still, even in the absence of a therapeutic breakthrough, the ability to make an early diagnosis coupled with counseling and community service has been shown to lead to better quality of life and reduced family stress.

Daniel Kaufer, M.D.

Philip Sloane, M.D.

Co-directors, Carolina Alzheimers Network, Chapel Hill