Experts are continually trying to find ways to be able to detect Alzheimer's disease way before it's too late for a patient.
Even after it has already developed, the disease may still be difficult to find out. Doctors cannot right away ascertain if a patient has Alzheimer's because they usually base it on symptoms which may also be a result of something else, say memory loss due to brain injuries.
A new study found that a person's spit may be able to tell if the person is at risk of getting Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers at the University of Alberta in Canada conducted an experiment to test if saliva can hint the possibility of getting Alzheimer's in patients. They looked at the compounds of the saliva of different people and who later developed the disease. They found that some compounds had higher levels in people who later developed Alzheimer's, compared to those that did not develop the disease.
The study, which was led by University of Alberta neuroscience graduate student Shraddha Sapkota, checked the metabolites present in the saliva of 22 people with Alzheimer's, 25 people with mild cognitive impairment and 35 people with normal mental skills. They used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to break down the saliva of the participants and identify which compounds were present among those with Alzheimer's as well as to see if it would be different among those with normal mental abilities.
The researchers found that six compounds were consistently present in the saliva of people who later developed Alzheimer's disease.
The study was presented Sunday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in the District.
Experts considered that the saliva test may be reliable, but emphasized that the small experiment needed more research.
"So that's promising. What that does is it tells a physician in a regular doctor's office that this person should get more testing," said Alzheimer's Association chief science officer Maria C. Carrillo.
Dr. Allison Reiss, Winthrop-University Hospital's Inflammation Section head in Mineola, New York, meanwhile believes that the study lacks factors like existing illnesses, medication, tobacco use, hydration state and other factors which may affect the presence of metabolites in the saliva samples.
"There are many gaps in the evidence," Reiss added. In larger, multicenter studies, Reiss is unsure whether or not the results will be the same.
Dr. Paul Wright, North Shore University Hospital's chair of neurology in Manhasset, on the other hand, points out that the experiment conducted by Sapkota's team is "still in its infancy" but could be very promising.
