A non-invasive optical imaging device developed at Cedars-Sinai can provide early detection of changes that later occur in the brain and are a classic sign of Alzheimer’s disease, according to preliminary results from investigators conducting a clinical trial in Australia.

‘In preliminary results in 40 patients, the test could differentiate between Alzheimer’s disease and non-Alzheimer’s disease with 100 percent sensitivity and 80.6 percent specificity, meaning that all people with the disease tested positive and most of the people without the disease tested negative. The optical imaging exam appears to detect changes that occur 15-20 years before clinical diagnosis. It’s a practical exam that could allow testing of new therapies at an earlier stage, increasing our chances of altering the course of Alzheimer’s disease,’ said Shaun Frost, a biomedical scientist and the study manager at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. CSIRO is Australia’s national science agency.

Frost, first author of the AAIC 2014 abstract, will make the oral presentation. He said 120 participants of a full study of 200 had completed testing.

Keith Black, MD, professor and chair of Cedars-Sinai’s Department of Neurosurgery, director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and the Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair in Neuroscience, said the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain is a hallmark sign of Alzheimer’s, but current tests detect changes only after the disease has advanced to late stages. Researchers believe that as treatment options improve, early detection will be critical, but existing diagnostic methods are inconvenient, costly and impractical for routine screening.

‘PET scans require the use of radioactive tracers, and cerebrospinal fluid analysis requires that patients undergo invasive and often painful lumbar punctures, but neither approach is quite feasible, especially for patients in the earlier stages of disease,’ he said. Positron emission tomography, or PET, is the current diagnostic standard.

‘The retina, unlike other structures of the eye, is part of the central nervous system, sharing many characteristics of the brain. A few years ago, we discovered at Cedars-Sinai that the plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease occur not only in the brain but also in the retina. By ‘staining’ the plaque with curcumin, a component of the common spice turmeric, we could detect it in the retina even before it began to accumulate in the brain. The device we developed enables us to look through the eye

Antidepressants are known to provide effective pain relief for various chronic pain conditions; however, the jury is still out on their use in treating the millions of patients who suffer from acute or chronic pain following surgery.  A first-of-its-kind literature review suggests although a majority of studies report positive outcomes, there is currently insufficient evidence to support the clinical use of antidepressants for the treatment of postoperative pain.

Coaching patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to manage stress, practice relaxation and participate in light exercise can boost a patient

Anxiety regarding inconclusive cancer screening test results among some patients is real and is only natural. However, the incidence and effects of anxiety associated with false positive or other results of computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening exams are far less than claimed by some in the medical community.

The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) announces the immediate releasePDF of Care of the Critically Ill and Injured During Pandemics and Disasters: CHEST Consensus Statement today in the Online First section of the journal CHEST while the global health-care community cares for patients with the Ebola virus. The consensus statement aims to guide ethical decision-making, coordination of care, resource conservation, and research in crises. The statement was developed by over 100 clinicians and experts representing a broad variety and scope of clinical fields from more than nine countries. It offers the latest evidence-informed suggestions on how to best prepare and manage the critically ill and injured during large-scale disasters and pandemics.