MRI brain scans accurate in early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Adding to the growing body of evidence indicating MRI brain scans provide valuable diagnostic information about Alzheimer's disease, a study in which a new visual rating system for evaluating the severity of shrinkage in the medial temporal lobe was used on brain scans of 260 people has found that scores accurately distinguished those with Alzheimer’s from those with mild cognitive impairment and those without memory problems. The test also accurately predicted those who would move from one group to another within a year or two.
The study was reported in the December issue of Neurology. Full reference
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/uosf-mb