An internatioal panel of experts have ruled that Alzheimer’s disease, just like any other chronic disease, is not a natural part of ageing and it can be diagnosed much earlier in the piece than originally thought.

A new set of diagnosis guidelines, announced at an international conference in Hawaii this week, will see medical professionals of the future using brain scans and spinal taps to detect Alzheimer’s up to 10 years earlier than they currently do now.

The experts identified three stages of the disease- advanced, mild disease and the new category called pre-clinical. Under the new guidelines, medical professionals will take into account the pre-clinical stage in the disease, when clumps of a protein (amyloid) start to form in the brain of a healthy person, around 10 years before the signs of dementia begin to show.

The conference’s expert panel estimated that the new guidelines, if adopted, will lead to a two or even three-fold increase in the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, due to early detection.

Although this would place a greater amount of stress upon an already strained aged and community care system, such new uses of technology would mean that patients could be treated before profound and irreversible brain damage occurs.

CEO of Alzheimer’s Australia, Glen Rees, said that the sector should welcome the news for what it truly is- proof that people can actively reduce their risk of dementia.

“The message is that people should worry about brain health all of their life,” Mr Rees said.

“The only positive we can offer people at the moment is that they can adapt their lifestyle to reduce their risk of dementia. We know that if you are mentally, socially and physically active, you eat the right foods, keep your cholesterol low and if you are in the right population group, your risk of dementia will be lower.

“We are happy with the guidelines in the sense that they recognise that Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are chronic diseases. And just like other chronic diseases that develop early in life, it is not a natural part of ageing.”

The changes mark the first update of the Alzheimer’s diagnosis criteria in around 26 years. Despite recent reports however, which suggest that the new international guidelines are due to be implemented within months, Mr Rees does not expect any implementation to occur any time soon.

“It is important for people to understand that the identification of those at risk is still a long way off particularly for those who have the very early symptoms,” he said.

“I’m not sure that we in Australia, we will be encouraging people to identify themselves as being at risk at a very early state, as at this time we don’t have the medical interventions necessary to modify the disease and delay the onset of dementia.

“I think most clinicians will be weary of early diagnosis and of identifying those at risks of dementia until such time that medical intervention is available to modify the disease’s progression.”