A Dunedin researcher is ''close'' to discovering a diagnostic test which could help identify people at risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Prof Bob Knight, of the University of Otago's Brain Health Research Centre (BHRC), told the Otago Daily Times the centre had been researching the test for about three years, comparing blood samples affected by the disease with healthy blood samples to identify differing molecules.
''We have some preliminary results that identify there is an increase in some molecules [in affected samples]. We are close to knowing whether or not the molecule that we're interested in is important,'' Prof Knight said.
''It looks as if it is.''
The research, funded by a $5 million grant from Wellington's Health Research Council, was ''very important'', he said.
''Our research is about trying to identify Alzheimer's.
''It can take a long time for people who are healthy to eventually have Alzheimer's. If we can find a test that works and identify persons at risk, we can instigate treatments a lot earlier.
''We are working on trying to delay it - if it was able to be delayed, it would be a huge reduction in the number of people with Alzheimer's disease.
''It's quite likely that some of the drugs that don't work now for more advanced cases might work at an earlier stage.
''It is really exciting, to be honest.''
Prof Knight said Alzheimer's, a disease primarily of old age which causes the brain to degenerate, affected more than 40,000 New Zealanders, a number which was expected to triple by 2050.
That was due to a combination of factors including ageing ''baby boomers'' and increased life expectancy.
''The crazy thing, really, is that it's a tsunami of frail, elderly people coming towards us.
''It is inevitable that there will be hundreds more, thousands more, by 2050.
''In a few months, we'll know whether our idea ... is a good one.''
Prof Knight was in Queenstown for the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, part of Queenstown Research Week, and was involved in a public seminar.
Associate Prof Michael Valenzuela, leader of the Regenerative Neuroscience Group at the Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, said in a presentation that while the BHRC's research was important, ''whether it will be clinically useful is a big question''.
''Blood markers can be useful in the context of cognitive tests and clinical tests that suggests a person is declining,'' he said.
''Someone who is completely normal ... there's no clinical way to use that information - but, that's what we do research for.''
Prof Valenzuela had been researching Alzheimer's and dementia for about 11 years and one of the key findings to date was those who ensured their brains stayed active in later life were at less risk of succumbing.
As a research assistant on a dementia project 11 years ago, he interviewed patients and their families and saw at first hand the ''diversity''; while some people aged well, others did not.
The difference between the two groups was a cognitive lifestyle, he said.
''Some people are just generally always learning new things and using their brain like an active muscle. Other people tend to get mentally lazy and not take up such activity and challenges,'' Prof Valenzuela said.
''That factor is indicative of whether or not people will get dementia - if you're very active, you've got about half the risk.''
Alzheimer's
• Causes brain to degenerate and makes day-to-day tasks difficult for sufferers.
• More than 120,000 New Zealanders could be affected by 2050.
• 42% of people over the age of 85 are diagnosed with late onset Alzheimer's, with changes in the brain beginning 10 to 20 years before symptoms appear.
• There is no cure, but there are ways to delay its onset, including healthy diet; remaining physically, socially and cognitively active; challenging brain to learn new skills like a language, or an activity like dancing, sailing or yoga.
