Simple blood test could detect Alzheimer’s BEFORE symptoms show, scientists discover
BLOOD tests could be used to predict if you’re likely to get Alzheimer’s, research suggests.
Star-shaped brain cells in the blood called astrocytes could indicate how likely a patient is to progress to the deadly disease, a “game-changer” study found.
University of Pittsburgh researchers tested more than 1,000 healthy elderly people to see what made them more at risk of the memory-robbing condition.
Only patients whose astrocytes were abnormally reactive and had high amounts of disease-causing proteins called amyloids went on to develop Alzheimer’s.
The findings could help with developing drugs aimed at preventing the disease progressing in future, researchers said.
Senior author Dr Tharick Pascoal said: “Testing for brain amyloid and blood biomarkers of astrocyte reactivity is the best screening to identify patients most at risk of Alzheimer’s.
“This puts astrocytes at the centre as key regulators of disease progression, challenging the notion that amyloid is enough to trigger Alzheimer’s disease.”
Around 944,000 Brits are currently living with dementia and experts predict the numbers will exceed 1million by the end of the decade.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of the condition, and is thought to be caused by build-ups of proteins in the brain, including tau and amyloid.
The latest study, published in Nature Medicine, looked at whether other processes in the body could be as influential in causing the disease.
Researchers looked at blood tests and scans of people in their late 60s and 70s to check their amyloid levels.
They then cross-referenced this with separate tests of their astrocytes.
People with high levels of both were significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer’s.
The findings help clear up why some people have large amounts of amyloid build-ups but never go on to get the disease.
Lead author Dr Bruna Bellaver said: “Astrocytes coordinate brain amyloid and tau relationships like a conductor directing the orchestra.
“This can be a game-changer to the field, since glial biomarkers in general are not considered in any main disease model.”