KALAMAZOO -- There was a time not long ago when the only way you could confirm if a person suffered from Alzheimer’s was during their autopsy. Now there is a test that can tell you if you will get it in the future, but would you want to know…knowing there are no truly effective treatments?
It takes a spinal tap and an analysis of the fluid from the tap to determine if you have the genetic markers for the debilitating and fatal disease.
Kalamazoo Neurologist Phillip Green thinks taking the test is a mistake if there is no way to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s in its early stages.
He says there are treatments for the late stage, but not the early stages.
Researchers defend the test, saying it gives them a way to identify likely victims and to test ways to help them. But what a burden it would be.
