Near-infrared light may help detect microscopic signs of Alzheimer’s disease in brain tissue

        The UPI (3/18) reports that "[n]ear-infrared light may help detect microscopic signs of Alzheimer’s disease in brain tissue," according to a study published in the journal Optics Letters. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Research "showed that as the microscopic plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease accumulate, the optical properties of the brain change and can be detected."

        Data indicate 18 percent of baby boomers may develop dementia USA Today (3/18, 6D, Fackelmann) reports that approximately "14 million, or roughly 18 percent, of the USA’s 79 million baby boomers can expect to develop Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia in their lifetime," according to the report, 2008 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, which also "states that one out of eight boomers will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia, at some point." Should no cure for Alzheimer’s be found, the U.S. "will be faced with a half-million new cases of Alzheimer’s in 2010, and nearly a million a year by the middle of the century." As baby boomers ago, "[t]he coming Alzheimer’s epidemic will, if left unchecked, put a huge strain on the healthcare system, including Medicare," experts warn.