New blood test can determine Alzheimer's risk

Alzheimer's can be predicted by biomarkers in the blood

03/12/2014

In the future, predictions about the onset and course of Alzheimer's disease can be made with a newly developed test. „We discovered and validated a set of ten peripheral blood lipids that predict an outbreak of Alzheimer's disease over 90 percent accuracy over the next two to three years“, The US research team reports to Howard Federoff of the Georgetown University Medical Center (Washington) in the journal „Nature Medicine“.

The scientists identified ten lipids that can act as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease in a blood test. The test allows early diagnosis and prediction of disease progression so early therapy can be initiated. This has a special significance in Alzheimer's, because so far no cure of the neurodegenerative disease, but only a therapeutic delay of the disease process is possible.

Successful search for preclinical biomarkers
Alzheimer's disease currently affects, according to the US researchers „Over 35 million people worldwide and the number of those affected are expected to rise to 115 million by 2050.“ So far, chances of a cure do not exist, which also has to do with the inability to recognize the disease before it comes to advanced, obvious impairments such as memory loss, Howard Federoff and colleagues. The determination of preclinical biomarkers could make a decisive contribution to the development of modifying and preventive therapies. The scientists therefore went in search of biomarkers that can be detected in the blood before the actual outbreak of Alzheimer's disease.

Blood test with 90% accuracy
In their study, in 525 adults who did not suffer from any cognitive impairment, the researchers took a blood sample when they were at least 70 years old. After three years, they performed another blood test in 53 subjects who were now suffering from Alzheimer's disease or had developed mild cognitive impairment. The researchers noticed a biomarker panel consisting of ten lipids, which already showed noticeable changes in those affected in the first blood test. The identified biomarkers could have predicted the onset of Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment with 90 percent accuracy over the three-year study period, write Federoff and colleagues. This would enable a relatively reliable, inexpensive, early diagnosis of Alzheimer's and age-related cognitive impairment in the future.

Development of new Alzheimer drugs possible
Also, the development of Alzheimer's drugs could be significantly advanced by the identification of biomarkers. Because now it is possible to test drugs that already started in the preclinical phase of the disease, said Howard Federoff. Such early-initiated therapies could open up completely new treatment options, especially as it may be possible to completely stop the course of the disease, according to the hope of the US scientists. First, however, comprehensive clinical studies are needed to validate the validity of the biomarket before a blood test can be used in everyday medical practice. (Fp)