New Delhi: A new blood test may be able to help detect the earliest biological signs of Alzheimer’s disease, years before symptoms appear.
The study, ‘Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology plasma biomarkers and cognition in midlife: a community-based cohort study,’ was published 30 May, in Lancet Healthy Longevity.
“Alzheimer’s disease pathology begins years before symptoms emerge.
According to the Global Burden of Disease study published in The Lancet Public Health, it estimated that 3.84 million people in India were living with dementia in 2019.
The findings suggest that blood tests could help identify people at risk of Alzheimer’s, years before major symptoms appear.
The study found out that the people with higher levels of proteins linked to Alzheimer’s in their blood scored less in cognitive tests over the following five years compared with participants who did not have the proteins in their blood samples..
The finding suggests that the changes linked to Alzheimer’s may begin years before the visible symptoms set in, potentially opening the door to early intervention and diagnosis. Usually, Alzheimer’s is diagnosed after the age of 65.
New Delhi: A new blood test may be able to help detect the earliest biological signs of Alzheimer’s disease, years before symptoms appear. New research suggests that the abnormal tau proteins—one of the main biological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s—can be detected in the blood of adults in their fifties and sixties.
The study, ‘Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology plasma biomarkers and cognition in midlife: a community-based cohort study,’ was published 30 May, in Lancet Healthy Longevity.
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, which is an umbrella term for neurological conditions affecting the brain. While there is no cure as of now, there are several treatments as well as medications which help in managing symptoms and, sometimes, even slow down its progression.
Early symptoms include forgetting recent events or conversations, according to private American academic medical center Mayo Clinic. Over time, Alzheimer’s leads to serious memory loss and affects a person’s ability to do everyday tasks, it adds.
“Alzheimer’s disease pathology begins years before symptoms emerge. Detecting the disease early means patients can target modifiable risk factors and maybe seek other care,” said Dr Kristine Yaffe, MD, a senior author in this research.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly 10 million new cases of dementia are diagnosed each year. According to the Global Burden of Disease study published in The Lancet Public Health, it estimated that 3.84 million people in India were living with dementia in 2019.
The findings
The study involved 1,350 adults in the 53-69 year age group with the average age of 61. These participants were part of a long running US health study. Of these total participants, 58 percent were women and 42 percent men and 45 percent were black and 55 percent white.
Researchers also observed and kept a track on the participants’ performance in tests which tested their memory, attention, language as well as other thinking abilities. Blood samples taken from the participants were checked for the presence of proteins, including amyloid-beta and tau, linked with Alzheimer’s.
Some of the blood samples had higher levels of these proteins. After identifying such participants, researchers undertook cognitive tests on them—the results showed that they tend to perform poorly on the cognitive tests and also experiencing a faster decline when it came to their thinking as well as memory skills over a period of five years when compared to those who did not have high levels of these proteins in their blood.
The biomarkers identified the participants who already had biological changes, which are associated with Alzheimer’s even before they developed noticeable symptoms. Only a small percentage of the participants tested positive (i.e., 4 to 15 percent of the participants) for the presence of the Alzheimer-related blood biomarkers.
Though it is still uncommon to see clear signs of Alzheimer’s in people around the age of 60, the research mentioned, when the changes related to the disease are noticed through a blood test, the participants are more likely to show subtle problems with memory, thinking, language, and information processing.
The findings suggest that blood tests could help identify people at risk of Alzheimer’s, years before major symptoms appear. This could allow doctors to recommend lifestyle changes and start treatments earlier, when they are likely to be most effective.
