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t m c p u l s e | m a r c h 2 02 0 29 are going to get far more inter- ested," Masdeu said. "People will want to know the prognosis, and therefore the diagnosis." Although there are currently no treatments to stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease, he noted, enrolling more people in clinical trials would mean more oppor- tunities for answers, more break- throughs in research, and hopefully future therapies. "Probably the next thing that's going to happen is the test will be used for clinical trials," Schindler said. "Ten or 20 years ago when they did drug studies for Alzheimer's disease, they just enrolled people who had dementia—cognitive symp- toms. And later, when they went back and looked at some of these people, they found out that about one-third of them didn't actually have Alzheimer's disease—they had cognitive impairment from other causes, but they didn't have plaques in their brain, which is really the key feature of Alzheimer's disease. And that was very problematic, because they were testing a drug for a con- dition that people didn't have, so it wasn't going to work regardless." Plaques can build up decades before any symptoms of cognitive decline, so detecting their presence early is key for earlier diagnosis and furthering the field of research. "We've done a lot of drug trials for Alzheimer's disease that haven't worked, and we think that a big reason for that is that we treated people too late," Schindler said. "We think that by the time people have symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, they've already had some significant damage, and it's much harder to try to slow down or reverse the damage than to try to prevent it in the first place. … In the next couple of years, I think the main utility of this blood test will be for these drug trials." 'We are very close' The latest research from Washington University isn't the only test currently being developed for early detection of Alzheimer's. In 2018, researchers in Japan pub- lished a paper in the journal Nature describing their study measuring MEDICAL CODING HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY For more information, contact: miriam.lozano@hccs.edu 713.718.7370 hccs.edu/health • Analyst Certificate (9 Months) • Coding Certificate (1 Year) • AAS Degree (2 Years) Certificates count towards AAS degree. 3 Levels of Completion: for fall 2020 semester! C O L L E G E F O R H E A L T H S C I E N C E S NMLS 62411 • 2121 Sage Rd. Suite 140 • Houston, TX 77056 www.krussell.republicstatemortgage.com Brian Keith Russell Residential Mortgage Loan Originator #284011 krussell@rsmc.net 713 . 2 9 9 . 4 9 8 1 The lending power of a full-service banker with the flexibility that comes with decisions made locally. YOUR HOMETOWN LENDER amyloid protein buildup in the blood. And a clinical trial sponsored by the University of Rhode Island is using eye exams, specifically retinal screening tests, to detect the buildup of amyloid plaques ahead of symptoms. "I think we are very close to having a test that is going to be effective," Masdeu said. "Whether it is exactly the same one that was used for the study at Washington University, or variations on it, I think we're almost there." Masdeu himself is working on a comprehensive study to increase global understanding of Alzheimer's disease, which he hopes will correspond with these breakthroughs in early detection. His team at Houston Methodist, in collaboration with researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, is working on a methodology using precision medicine for Alzheimer's disease. "We are going to be looking at all the imaging markers that allow us to know what is going on in the brain of these patients—whether they have tau deposits in the brain or amyloid," Masdeu said. "That is a huge amount of information per patient, but one of the things we are learning about Alzheimer's is that it is anything but uniform." The teams are also looking at inflammation, Masdeu said, because that condition is emerging as an important piece of the puzzle. Ultimately, he said, all of the work is helping inch the field forward. Schindler said she could see a future in which a drug exists that would prevent or slow the onset of symptoms—making an early-de- tection blood test critical for the general population. "The idea would be that you would go into your doctor's office for your annual exam, and maybe every few years you'd get this blood test done, and if it comes back abnormal, then you would start on some kind of therapy that would prevent you from ever getting Alzheimer's disease," Schindler said. "We're a ways from that, but I think it could happen."