Latest breakthrough in dementia, new blood test analyzer to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease even without symptoms
Speed up diagnosis
As science and technology are progressing each day so does scientists and doctors. In a recent study, scientists across the world are progressing towards latest breakthrough in dementia with new blood test analyzer.
Researchers have found a blood test that is primary for detecting relevant treatment effects that could speed up diagnosis.
Furthermore, this new study has now identified tests that could help diagnose the neurological condition during the earliest stages.
However, Alzheimer’s disease, according to the US-based CDC, is the most common type of dementia. In addition, it is progressive in nature, beginning from mild memory loss to loss of the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment. Further, the disease involves parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language.
Research and Study
A team of researchers led by Professor Oskar Hanssson, Lund University, and Professor Kaj Blennow, University of Gothenburg have analysed blood tests. Further, they found multiple blood biomarkers that were sufficient in identifying Alzheimer’s disease pathology, even in participants with no symptoms. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Analysis
They analysed blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease pathology and neurodegeneration in 575 individuals from the BioFINDER cohort. In 242 participants, the plasma tests were repeated for up to 6 years. And then, along with cognitive testing and magnetic resonance imaging. They found that over six years only phospho-tau217 was related to Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Moreover, they found a decline in cognitive performance, and increased brain atrophy typical of incipient Alzheimer’s.
Plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 217 (p-tau217) and plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181) are associated with Alzheimer’s disease tau pathology, according to the Lancet.
The test could be used as a strategy to select the correct individuals for novel disease. Modifying trials is a task that currently requires expensive molecular imaging techniques or lumbar punctures. “Distinctive blood tests may be optimal for the identification of Alzheimer’s pathology or for monitoring of disease progression and therefore, have different roles in clinical trials” the first author of the research study Dr. Nicholas Ashton from the University of Gothenburg, said in a statement.
Conclusion
According to the study, phospho-tau217 is found to be an optimal test for monitoring patients. The patients are monitored in both clinical setting and a trial setting because of its longitudinal association with Alzheimer’s development.
“Besides improving the design of clinical trials, the novel blood tests will revolutionize the diagnoses of early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Further, phospoho-tau217 might be used in the future to monitor the response in individual patients to disease-modifying therapies in clinical practice,” Oskar Hansson added.
