New Alzheimer’s Tests Raise Moral Dilemma

Until recently, the image of Alzheimer’s was the visibly demented person who was unable to follow a conversation or remember daily plans. Now doctors have developed tests that can diagnose individuals years before actual dementia sets in. But these new tests are raising a moral dilemma. Since there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, is it wise to tell people that they have a progressive degenerative brain disease years before they experience any symptoms?

Doctors are divided on the issue. Some feel that individuals have the right to know, but others think it’s best that they don’t. Dr. Moreno, a professor of medical ethics and the history and sociology of science at the University of Pennsylvania, thinks that this is going to be a big issue that is difficult to deal with. He stated, “We have so much information now, and we have to try to learn as a culture what information we do not want to have.” Dr. de Leon, a neurologist, feels the same way. He said that patients increasingly demand to know, and that “[t]he floodgate is about to open.”

For more information about the new testing and patients’ reactions to the news, see Gina Kolata, Tests Detect Alzheimer’s Risks, but Should Patients be Told?, N.Y. Times, Dec. 17, 2010.