PsychBabel

from Technology Review: A Skin Test for Alzheimer’s Disease

Researchers at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI), in Morgantown, WV, have developed a test that detects enzymes that are dysfunctional in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. These enzymes (PKCs) are involved in long-term memory storage and are found in both the brain and in skin cells. Large scale clinical trials are about to begin. In a preliminary trial with 600 patients, the test correctly diagnosed 36 out of 37 patients confirmed on autopsy to have the disease, as well as 5 patients confirmed on autopsy not to have it. [ed.: Does this mean that they incorrectly diagnosed 5 patients or that they correctly confirmed 5 cases that were suspected to have something other than Alzheimer's?]

A “real” test for Alzheimer’s…I hope we get to see this or another accurate test in the relatively near future.

A new study is reporting that descendants of people with a history of depression displayed large expanses of cortical thinning across the lateral surface of the right cerebral hemisphere. Tests on the participants showed that those with more thinning had greater difficulty with arousal, attention, and visual memory for social stimuli. Could cognitive problems lead to a greater chance for depression? Or is the thinning tied to a predisposition for depression in other ways?

See U.S. News & World Report – Health.

So we in psychiatry are taught the Folstein Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) early in our training. At times, I have wondered, how and when did the Folsteins come up with the MMSE? How was it first introduced? Then I came upon these articles:

• “The Mini Exam with Maximal Staying Power” [I know......... that title...urgh.]
• “Mini-Mental State: A Practical Method for Grading the Cognitive State of Patients for the Clinician“

It appears that answers those questions. A more detailed look at the MMSE in the future.