First Coast News
by Juliette Dryer

When you think of Alzheimer’s Disease, you likely imagine the confusion, memory loss and other symptoms that go along with it. Under a new framework for Alzheimer’s Research, the disease would no longer be defined by these symptoms, but rather by physical characteristics in the brain. Dr. Neill Graff-Radford, a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, said the presence of so-called plaques and tangles signals an Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosis. In the new research framework, people can be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s before they show symptoms. “So a person can have Alzheimer’s Disease in the brain when they are absolutely cognitively normal,” Graff-Radford said.

Reach: First Coast News refers to three television stations in Jacksonville, Florida. WJXX, the ABC affiliate; WTLV, the NBC affiliate; and WCWJ, the CW affiliate.

Context:  Neill Graff-Radford,  M.D. is a Mayo Clinic neurologist. Dr. Graff-Radford's medical research involves finding genes that help people age without becoming demented. You can read more about his medical research here.

Contact:  Kevin Punsky

Tags: alzheimer's disease, Dr. Neill Graff-Radford, First Coast News, Medical research, Uncategorized