Alzheimer's hope for blood test for early detection

With the help of an Alzheimer's blood test, the early detection could be significantly improved

09/07/2014

The news of the potential development of a blood test for early detection of Alzheimer's has caused a sensation not only in the medical community. Scientists at London's King's College said they identified with the biotech company Proteome Sciences „a set of 10 proteins in the blood that can predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease.“ This is a „significant step towards the development of a blood test“ for the early detection of Alzheimer's, according to the message of the King´s college continues.

As the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer's is characterized by a progressive death of the brain cells that brings significant cognitive impairment. Particularly noticeable is the increasing loss of memory or the forgetfulness, but also language problems, indifference and emerging depression may be related to the disease. Those affected find it increasingly difficult to cope with everyday life and are dependent on care around the clock in their late stages. The death of brain cells is caused by certain protein deposits in the brain, although the symptoms do not occur until Alzheimer's disease is relatively advanced.

Hope for improved treatment options
Since no effective long-term drug treatment of Alzheimer's disease is possible and only the course of the disease can be significantly delayed, the early diagnosis is of particular importance. Also will „It is believed that many new clinical trials fail because of late-onset drug use“, reports the London King´s college continues. With a blood test for Alzheimer's early detection, the treatment options could be improved significantly. The British researchers began to search for proteins that can be detected early in the blood of Alzheimer's patients. They used the data from three international studies with blood samples from a total of 1,148 individuals (476 Alzheimer's patients, 220 subjects with mild cognitive impairment and 452 subjects without dementia). Here they looked for links between the development of Alzheimer's disease and 26 previously limited risk proteins.

Blood test with high accuracy
The researchers identified 16 of the 26 proteins that correlate strongly with the shrinkage of the brain in subjects with mild cognitive impairment („Mild cognitive impairment“; MCI) and Alzheimer's have been reported by the London King´s college. In a second series of tests, the researchers determined, „which of these proteins could predict the progression from MCI to Alzheimer's disease.“ They identified a combination of 10 proteins that predicted with 87 percent confidence that people with MCI would develop Alzheimer's disease in the next year. The lead author of the study, dr. Abdul Hye from the Department of Psychiatry at King's College London said that a number of proteins are now known, „who can predict with a high degree of accuracy whether someone with early symptoms of memory loss or mild cognitive impairment will develop Alzheimer's disease within a year.“

Hope for the development of new Alzheimer's drugs
Professor Simon Lovestone, senior author of the study from the University of Oxford, hopes that the new opportunities for early Alzheimer's disease will also benefit the development of new drugs. Because „Many of our drug trials fail because the brain has already degraded too much at the time of the medication“, Lovestone. Here, a simple blood test could help bring patients to treatment much earlier. Further studies should now further improve the accuracy of the blood test and reduce the risk of misdiagnosis in order to develop a reliable test that can be used by physicians in the field. As the aging population is expected to increase dramatically in the next few years, it is important to explore new ways to intervene early in the disease and maintain the quality of life for those affected as long as possible enable, emphasized Eric Karran from the research institution „Alzheimer's Research UK“. (Fp)