Alzheimer's Disease. New test online.

Godsentme

I heard on the news tonight a mention of a comprehensive self test for Alsheimers here in Ireland. Apparently its good enough that if you don't measure up to it , its time to go to your Doctor. Only trouble is they didn't give the name of the site.

Doe's anyone know of it?

Godsentme

Found it. www.foodforthebrain.org

Godsentme

^^

Anybody interested in doing the above test? It's pretty interesting and takes about 15 minutes. and will you post your score? I'm not sure if it's a clever scam or what but I came out as being "at risk of getting Alsheimers", but isn't everybody?

Kiva.D

I'm up for taking the test. I realize the seriousness and devastation of the disease - my grandparents may have it. My scores may show a high degree of susceptibility.

Coriolanus

69, very low risk.

The only part that could be considered a scam would be their urging you to get a homocysteine test. But, they do say that your GP can administer that if you don't want to buy the kit from Yorktest laboratories.

Kiva.D

Well, either me or my computer already have serious cognitive problems, since I can't access the site. My PC freezes then errors with page not found... Will clean my disk and try again later.

Coriolanus

Decent bit of coverage in the print media.

http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&ncl=dtkJinU1s4gR7NMX3EaEsanV0_UCM

HigginsJ

65 very low risk

MagicMarker

I got 74 last night, probably would have done better if I wasn't half asleep.

Not unexpected though seeing as I'm only 27!

Kiva.D

Wow, I'm at a very low risk too! Hurray!

Lil' Smiler

50.. i'm apparently very low risk. Both of my Mums parents have Alzheimers and Grandpa had Vascular Dimentia.

nesf

62, done with a touchpad though so lower than it would really be.

xoxyx

I got 70, but, then again, I am in my mid-20s. Clicked the box to get reminded again in a year. Would be interesting to chart my results year on year .

My granny got Alzheimer's in her final years. Scary, horrible disease. Now all her childen (in their late 50s to late 60s) constantly watch themselves for developing signs - they are terrified. Please God they'll never have to through it, especially having seen what it can do first hand. There's not much that scares me more than Alzheimer's.

Kila

That's a tough one - I'm currently studying neural aging (and alzheimers, parkinsons, etc) as part of my MSc. Part of what has made finding a cure for these things difficult is that many of the signs of things like alzheimers can also be seen as part of normal neural ageing (e.g. the chemicals which cause the plaques, etc.).

It's an interesting test, and it would definitely be interesting to see if the results change over time (or even just if the conditions change the results dramatically). The test seems a little bit more like an IQ test in parts than a memory test, and although it seemed promising at the start, I'm not sure if it's really an accurate test of cognitive impairment. For example, time in education, activity level (mentally challenging activities) and literacy levels have been correlated with lower rates of old-age dementia, so I would have expected more than just one quick question about them.

Homocysteine is still a hot-topic of debate - there's still disagreement over what constitutes a raised level, and there are trials to see if vitamin supplementation can actually make a difference, so I'd be curious to examine the driving force behind the site, and see whether the aim is merely to sell the supplements, or to actually provide information.

Godsentme

Yes I was dubious about it to be honest. Bottom line is $$$$s I'd say.But if you were worried about getting Alshiemers you'd probably buy some of those pills.