Two months ago, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania announced they developed a remarkably accurate screening test for Alzheimer’s disease.

Unfortunately, the test necessitates a spinal tap which is only slightly less odious than say, colonoscopy.

That’s why many were elated to learn that scientists at UCSF just developed a noninvasive, 15-point assessment tool that does pretty much the same thing, albeit sacrificing some diagnostic accuracy in the process.

Sexagenarians that score eight or higher on the scale are at high risk of developing dementia within the next 6 years, according to lead author Deborah Barnes.

Many items on the test are known risk factors for the condition, including old age, low scores on thinking skill tests, and having a gene linked to the disease.
 
Others are less obvious, including being underweight, completely abstaining from alcohol, a history of coronary bypass surgery, and difficulty with simple physical tasks like buttoning a shirt.
 
“This new risk index could be very important both for research and for people at risk of developing dementia and their families,” Barnes told BurrillReport. “It could be used to identify people at high risk for dementia for studies on new drugs or prevention methods.”

To develop the index, the scientists followed 3,375 elderly people for 6 years. Subjects had no evidence of dementia at study onset, but 480 had developed the condition by the end of the observation period.

The scientists then determined using logistic regression which combination of factors best predicted dementia onset.
 
Nearly 56% of those with high scores on the test developed dementia, compared with 23% of subjects having moderate scores and 4% among subjects with low scores. Overall, 88% of subjects ended up being correctly classified by the test.
 
The study is in Neurology.

Forty percent of the children that will be born today in this country will have unmarried moms, according to a study by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Nearly 1.7 million kids were born to unmarried women in 2007.

That’s up 26% in the last 5 years and twice the number in 1980, according to the study. 

Causes of the trend are many, including a jump in the number of couples who choose to delay or forgo marriage, increasing social acceptance of unmarried motherhood, and increasing numbers of financially independent women who decide to have children on their own.

“The old adage that ‘first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage’ just no longer holds true,” mused Wellesley sociology professor Rosanna Hertz to the Washington Post.

“(Single mothers are) much more socially acceptable,” Hertz offered. “It’s not going to destroy your employment, and it’s not going to mean that you’ll be made a pariah by the community.” 

But others see trouble in the trend because kids who grow up in the absence of a stable, two-parent families tend to encounter more headwind while finding their way.

“Maybe this trend is what young adults want or stumble into, but it’s not in the best interest of children,” Sarah Brown, the chief executive of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy told the Post.

Despite much handwringing about the recent uptick in teenage pregnancy, this phenomenon is not driving the larger trend.

Instead, it is the rise in births to unmarried women who are their 20s and 30s.

The rates are highest and have been rising the fastest among Hispanics and blacks.

In 2006, there were 106 births per 1,000 unmarried Hispanic women, 72 per 1,000 blacks, 32 per 1,000 whites and 26 per 1,000 Asians, according to the report.