London, Aug 3 : Scientists have discovered that a PET scan, usually used to spot cancerous tumours, can identify the early signs of dementia by measuring activity in the brain in under 60 minutes.

Forty-four healthy people were studied, 40 with Alzheimer's and 94 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

In the healthy group the scan showed high levels of brain activity by measuring the amount of glucose being used by the cells in the brain, but those with MCI and Alzheimer's the activity was reduced.

Experts believe it will give doctors conclusive proof that a patient is set to develop Alzheimer's.

At the moment patients have six months of memory tests before they can receive any results about their condition.

Prof Karl Herholz, who led the research at Manchester University, said this could rapidly speed up the process of finding a drug to stop the disease progressing.

"The scan takes 10 to 20 minutes and the evaluation takes 30 minutes," the Daily Express quoted him as saying. (ANI)