Blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease

What is it about?

Alzheimer's disease is reaching epidemic proportions world wide. There is no effective treatment or cure. Diagnosis is made when clinical symptoms are apparent which makes treatment approaches ineffective as considerable damage to the brain has already taken place. This study examined the blood and CSF of people who have genetic mutations that cause the disease and is passed on too offspring that carry the genetic mutation. We measured fats in the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid of participants who were asymptomatic mutation carriers, symptomatic mutation carriers and non carriers and found that selected fats were altered early in asymptomatic carriers. These findings if confirmed in a larger study can be translated to developing an early diagnostic test in pre-symptomatic carriers in the more common form of sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

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Why is it important?

These novel findings have the potential of developing a much needed blood test for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease which in turn will allow for more effective treatments to be developed.