By AMIR KHAN
April 9, 2012 4:22 PM EDT

The FDA's approval of a new imaging test gives doctors the ability to diagnose Alzheimer's disease with some certainty for the first time. Until now, Alzheimer's disease was diagnosed by the exclusion of other conditions and could only be concretely diagnosed after death.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia in the United States, affecting more than 5 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of people who suffer from the disease is expected to double every 20 years as population increases and people live longer.

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By ROXANNE PALMER
May 2, 2012 2:42 PM EDT

Researchers using mice to explore the initial triggers of Alzheimer's disease believe they've fingered a prime suspect -- a highly toxic protein that converts other proteins into more toxic forms in a behavior that mimics mad cow disease.

These converted proteins then work in concert with another protein called tau to kill nerve cells according to a paper published in Nature on Wednesday. Nerve cell death is thought to be a primary cause of memory loss and other Alzheimer's symptoms.

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