New effective method to detect future Alzheimer’s patients.
In a recent research published online in the journal Nature Medicine, scientists claim to have developed a technique by which they can forecast if a person is capable of developing dementia in two to three years. This will be very useful to mankind since dementia affects over 35 million people worldwide and is expected to affect 150 million by 2050. Dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder which leads to loss of important structures and functions in the brain. It is not a single disease but a non-specific syndrome which worsens with time. The Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and is incurable.
The study comprised of a simple blood test from 525 healthy individuals all aged above seventy. Their blood samples were taken once every year for at least five years. About 74 individuals developed Alzheimer’s disease, enabling scientists to compare blood lipid profiles of 53 individuals who developed mild symptoms of the disease to those that were absolutely healthy.
Upon matching they found there are certain lipids that were strongly linked with Alzheimer disease appearance. More specifically, about ten molecules or biomarkers were identified as potential candidates that were responsible for breaking down the neural cell membranes and thereby leading to the development of Alzheimer’s symptoms. The presence of these ten biomarkers could predict with 90% accuracy that people having these compounds in their blood are likely to get affected with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the near future.
The Alzheimer’s disease has no fool proof cure so far and the condition worsens as it progresses, eventually leading to death. Several therapies have been tested in clinical trials in the past few years but none have been successful. This may be because the patients that are brought for trial have already acquired the disease. The need is to develop biomarkers that can identify at large scale the at-risks individuals. This study will help to design and develop a drug that might delay or prevent the onset of disease symptoms in those individuals that are at risk.
References:
Mapstone, M., Cheema, A., Fiandaca, M., Zhong, X., Mhyre, T., MacArthur, L., Hall, W., Fisher, S., Peterson, D., Haley, J., Nazar, M., Rich, S., Berlau, D., Peltz, C., Tan, M., Kawas, C., & Federoff, H. (2014). Plasma phospholipids identify antecedent memory impairment in older adults Nature Medicine DOI: 10.1038/nm.3466
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