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"She told the American Association for the Advancement of Science patients could be treated sooner as a result." Treated with what? And to what degree of benefit? "Early diagnosis is key because we know that by the time a typical individual presents with the symptoms of the disease, chemical changes have already caused significant cell death of vulnerable motor neurons," she added. And how does early diagnosis help us protect those vulnerable motor neurons? They never say... Kathleen 2009/2/15 schild.m <[log in to unmask]> > Light 'could detect Parkinson's' > A light as bright as a million-watt bulb could help identify early signs > of > Parkinson's disease, British researchers have said. > The Keele University team told a conference that a "super-microscope" > could > spot changes in brain cells before the disease destroyed them. > Keele's Dr Joanna Collingwood said that the technique was "pioneering". > She told the American Association for the Advancement of Science patients > could be treated sooner as a result. > 'Early diagnosis' > Dr Collingwood said the team had been using a synchrotron - or Diamond > Light > Source (DLS) - at Harwell, Oxfordshire. > The device is a large doughnut-shaped particle accelerator, the size of > five > football pitches, which fires particles at just below the speed of light, > focusing them into a beam less than a single cell in diameter. > It allows researchers to to observe iron levels in individual brain cells, > which are affected by Parkinson's. > Dr Collingwood told the AAAS conference in Chicago: "We have been able to > investigate human tissue with such precision that metal ions, particularly > iron levels, in and around individual cells can be mapped. > "The technique is pioneering in that it does not change the distribution > or > form of the metals in the tissue being studied." > She said she hoped that the team's work could help doctors detect early > signs > of Parkinson's using MRI. > "Early diagnosis is key because we know that by the time a typical > individual > presents with the symptoms of the disease, chemical changes have already > caused significant cell death of vulnerable motor neurones," she added. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto: > [log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn