Research

Early warning: Researchers at Duke University Medical Center are trying to develop an imaging tool to detect Alzheimer's disease earlier.

The effort, led by neurologist Jeffrey Petrella, is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

"Our long-term goal is to develop an imaging tool which will help, one, identify the disease earlier, and, two, track the course of the disease and the response of the disease to treatments," Dr. Petrella says.

Dr. Petrella is using a new technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging. The technique lets researchers look at brain function, not just anatomy. It is faster and less expensive than some imaging techniques and doesn't require the use of radioactive material to achieve images.

"Without early diagnosis, you can't have early treatment," the doctor says. "And with new therapies becoming available, the importance of early diagnosis is coming greater and greater to the forefront."

Hot news

Risk factor: Smoking is a key risk factor for colorectal polyps, say researchers at Stony Brook University in New York.

Dr. Rajeev Attam, a gastroenterologist at the university, says smoking was as strong a predictor for polyps - which signal the possibility of colorectal cancer - as a family history of the disease. An analysis of 1,566 patients who had screening colonoscopies found that 25 percent of current smokers had polyps, compared with 17 percent of nonsmokers and 19 percent of ex-smokers.

Smokers were also much more likely to have more than two polyps, to have polyps that were larger than 1 centimeter or to have polyps with a greater potential for malignancy, Dr. Attam says.

The findings suggest physicians should consider encouraging smokers to get a screening colonoscopy before the recommended age of 50, researchers say.

The findings were presented this month at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Seattle.

Tips

Safe scare: The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these safety tips for a happy Halloween:

• Children should use flashlights to see and be seen.

• Costumes should be short enough so children won't trip and fall, and children should wear sturdy, comfortable shoes.

• Costumes should be light, bright and clearly visible to motorists.

• Children should stay in familiar neighborhoods and be accompanied by an adult.

• Make sure masks fit securely and don't impair vision, or use makeup.

• Make sure costumes are flame-resistant.

• Stay on the sidewalk.

Shelf help

Self portrait: The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World (Workman Publishing; $14.95) by Dr. Marti Olsen Laney offers the shy among us tips for coping in a world of in-your-face extroverts.

Contact Peggy O'Farrell by phone, 768-8510; fax, 768-8330, or e-mail pofarrell@enquirer.com