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JACKSON, miss – Alzheimer’s disease robs people with memory loss and the families of loved ones long before they die. There is no cure, but prevention techniques can certainly help delay the onset and severity of symptoms. Now, there may soon be a way for people who are genetically at risk to tackle the disease more in advance than ever. Scientists have developed a new, simple blood test that could diagnose Alzheimer’s disease decades before symptoms appear.
Currently, the only way to detect beta-amyloid, the toxic protein believed to be the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, is through expensive CT scans or invasive lumbar puncture procedures. The Alzheimer’s blood test could lead to a screening program, making it possible to prescribe drugs and lifestyle changes to vulnerable people. One of the reasons drug trials have failed is that they are given to patients after the disease has already set in.
“Right now, we’re looking at levels in the central nervous system as a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease,” says lead author Dr. Kevin Sullivan, of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, by South West News Service. “But the only way to do that is to do brain scans or look at the cerebrospinal fluid through a lumbar puncture. These new results suggest that it is useful to use simple blood samples that are less expensive and much less invasive for people. “
Sullivan and his team looked at two types of beta-amyloid – called Aβ42 and Aβ40 – and the relationship between the two. Each increase of 67 picograms per milliliter (pg / mL) of the latter increased the risk of dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by 15%. On the other hand, each increase of 10 pg / mL reduced them by 13%.
A lower ratio of Aβ42 to Aβ40 also increased the risk of dementia and MCI.
“Doubling this ratio below this threshold at midlife was associated with a 37% lower risk of ICD or dementia, which is comparable to about five years younger, and doubling this ratio below this threshold at the end. of life was comparable to about three years younger, ”Sullivan notes. “Amyloid in the blood may be useful as a biomarker for the risk of future cognitive impairment.”
Mid-life Alzheimer’s blood test could help prove future predictions are wrong
In the study, 2,284 men and women with an average age of 59 were followed for 25 years. Blood samples were tested early (the quarantine test) and then again at the end of life, when they were around 77 years old. The participants had no problems with memory or thinking skills at the start.
Mental tests showed that 502 and 832 developed dementia and MCI, respectively.
The study, published in the journal Neurology, took into account age, education and cardiovascular risk factors.
As the brain engages in daily tasks, it continually produces and eliminates beta-amyloid, which can prevent brain cells from functioning properly. Some are washed out in the blood and others float in the cerebrospinal fluid, which is why lumbar punctures are used. If the protein starts to build up, it can build up in plaques that adhere to neurons, causing permanent damage.
They’re mostly made up of 42 beta-amyloid, which means it probably gets deposited in the brain before it goes into the blood.
In the United States, approximately 6 million people are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease. This number is believed to rise to 13 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. A recent study predicts that cases of dementia around the world will triple that year.
South West News Service writer Mark Waghorn contributed to this report.
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