COLUMBUS, Ohio –
Researchers are publishing remarkable findings of a test for Alzheimer’s Disease that was developed by a neurologist at The Ohio State University.
The Journal Of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences is publishing the findings of the Sage test Monday.
It’s a test that NBC4’s Colleen Marshall reported on years ago.
In 2009, Dr. Douglas Scharre provided NBC4 with a tour of The Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center “brain bank,” where a single brain, donated for medical research, can be used for 20 different research projects.
Dr. Scharre has been part of NBC4’s annual special presentation on Alzheimer’s, and nothing has received more attention from the program than the Self Administered Gerocognitive Examination (Sage) test. Dr. Scharre calls it a routine screening tool.
“I don’t think you need to give it to everyone, but maybe (at) age 60, if dementia runs in the family, then, shoot, do it early,” Scharre said.
Early is the operative word. The simple test can detect signs of Alzheimer’s years before symptoms become acute. It gives doctors the chance to start treatment earlier.
“People don’t go to their doctors with mild symptoms. They’re embarrassed by them. Families are embarrassed by them and the families don’t tell the doctor either,” Dr. Scharre said.
The study that is being released Monday shows that of the 1,000 patients who were given the annual test over a period of a few years, 28 percent had signs of cognitive decline that they were not aware of before they took the test.
There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, but Dr. Scharre said there are treatments to show its development, and now a test to detect it.
The Alois Alzheimer Foundation 