Blood-based tests may detect Alzheimer’s disease early, study suggests

A test could detect Alzheimer’s three and a half years before diagnosis, a study suggests.

Research from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience has produced a blood-based test that can predict the risk of the condition. The study supports the idea that components in blood can influence the formation of brain cells.

Dr. Edina Silajdzic, the study’s joint first author, said: ‘Our findings are extremely important, allowing us to predict the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease.’

Although Alzheimer’s disease affects the formation of new brain cells in the hippocampus during the early stages of the disease, previous research has only been able to study neurogenesis in the later stages through postmortem studies.

Research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London has developed a blood-based test that can predict the risk of Alzheimer’s disease

To understand the early changes, researchers collected blood samples from 56 people over several years with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition in which someone begins to experience a deterioration in their memory or cognitive ability.

While not everyone with MCI will develop Alzheimer’s disease, those with the condition move toward a diagnosis much faster than the rest of the population.

Thirty-six of the 56 people in the study were later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

When the researchers used only the blood samples furthest from when someone was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, they found that the changes in neurogenesis occurred 3.5 years before a clinical diagnosis.

Professor Sandrine Thuret, the lead author of the study from King’s IoPPN, said: ‘Previous studies have shown that blood from young mice can have a rejuvenating effect on the cognition of older mice by enhancing hippocampal neurogenesis.

‘This gave us the idea of ​​modeling the process of neurogenesis in a dish using human brain cells and human blood.

‘In our study, we wanted to use this model to understand the process of neurogenesis and to use changes in this process to predict Alzheimer’s disease. new cells.’

WHAT IS DEMENTIA?

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of neurological conditions

A WORLDWIDE CARE

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological conditions (affecting the brain) that affect memory, thinking, and behavior.

There are many forms of dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common.

Some people have a combination of different forms of dementia.

Regardless of which type is diagnosed, each person experiences dementia in their own unique way.

Dementia is a global problem, but it is most common in wealthier countries, where people are likely to live very old.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED?

The Alzheimer’s Society reports that there are more than 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK today. This is expected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting between 50 and 75 percent of those diagnosed.

There are an estimated 5.5 million Alzheimer’s patients in the US. A similar percentage increase is expected for the coming years.

As a person’s age increases, so does the risk of developing dementia.

The rate of diagnoses is improving, but many people with dementia are thought to remain undiagnosed.

IS THERE A MEDICINE?

Currently there is no cure for dementia.

But new drugs can slow its progression, and the sooner it’s caught, the more effective treatments can be.

Source: Alzheimer’s Association