A new set of guidelines combining what can be seen in a clinic and looking inside the brain could help doctors find Alzheimer's disease when it is causing only minor problems, researchers said.

The criteria involve using advanced brain scans to check the function of the brain as well as testing spinal fluid.

Early detection allows researchers to test vaccines or treatments, the authors said.

Currently, doctors test how well people function, which the authors said means a diagnosis may wait until someone has significant impairment. They said a new approach would change the focus of testing.

The measures that can be seen in person include memory loss plus specific results on MRI scans and markers in spinal fluid tests.

The new procedures are outlined in the journal Lancet Neurology in a paper written by Dr. Howard Feldman of the University of British Columbia.