Early Alzheimer's tests a mixed bargain

NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- New tests are finding diseases like Alzheimer's at earlier stages, but treatment is not keeping pace, posing ethical dilemmas, U.S. researchers say.

Dr. Michael Rafii, a neurologist at the University of California, San Diego, has diagnosed Alzheimer's years before major symptoms appear with tests like an MRI that assesses the volume of brain areas, and a spinal tap, The New York Times reports.

"I give them the diagnosis -- we are getting pretty good at diagnosis now. But it's challenging because what do we do then?" he told the newspaper.

Some doctors, like John Morris of Washington University in St. Louis, will not offer patients the new diagnostic tests. He uses them in research but does not tell subjects the results.

"We don't know for certain what these results mean," Morris said. "If you have amyloid in your brain, we don't know for certain that you will become demented, and we don't have anything we can do about it."

The issue is confronting investigators in a federal study of early Alzheimer's. The study is following hundreds of people aged 55 to 90 who range from normal memory to full-blown dementia. So far, only investigators know the results.