Alzheimer's Disease Research News Update: Saliva Test May Diagnose Condition

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Canadian researchers released a study that suggests saliva could be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. 

A new study presented on Sunday during the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Washington, D.C. suggests that saliva may be used as a diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease. According to US News & World Report, the studies presented in the conference are preliminary and will only be final once published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Research head Shraddha Sapkota of Canada's University of Alberta and his colleagues tested samples from 22 Alzheimer's patients, 25 people with cognitive impairment and 35 people with normal mental capacities.

According to Washington Post, the researchers found that Alzheimer's patients had a significantly higher amount of metabolites in their saliva - a substance that could indicate a person may have early-stage Alzheimer's.

"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 Maria C. Carillo, a science officer at the Alzheimer's Association.

In USN's report, despite the positive reaction from the scientists, they agreed that more studies and research should be made.

According to Dr. Allison Reiss from New York's Winthrop-University Hospital, the study is "very preliminary" and only covers only a small sample. She adds that there are many factors that have not been taken into consideration for the study, such as tobacco use, medication and underlying illnesses to name a few.

"There are many gaps in the evidence," Dr. Reiss said via USN. "It is uncertain whether the strength and consistency of the relationship between these metabolites [in saliva] and Alzheimer's risk will be maintained in a large multicenter study."

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and takes 60 percent to 80 percent of cases in the US. According to Alzheimer's Association, this type of dementia is progressive and affects a person's memory, behavior and thinking. According to the nonprofit group, there is no one way to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. There are many overlapping symptoms of Alzheimer's with those of other health conditions that affect memory and thinking.

"The disease doesn't start when the memory problems become apparent," said Dr. William Klunk of the University of Pittsburg and adviser to the Alzheimer's Association, via NBC News. This suggests that early diagnosis is imperative to help studies about prevention and the prediction of a person's likeliness to get the disease move forward.

According to the facts sheet published by Alzheimer's Association, it is estimated that over 5.3 million Americans will develop Alzheimer's disease in 2015.