Blood Test Predicts Presence of Beta-Amyloid in Brain
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurologic condition that causes brain cells to shrink and die and is the most common cause of dementia — the continuous decline in thinking, behavioural, and social skills affecting the ability to function independently.
The disease is characterised by a build of beta-amyloid protein, which forms sticky plaques on the brain and its cells. Identifying and detecting the protein’s presence is key to diagnosing Alzheimer’s.
The National Institute of Ageing (NIA) has found a new blood test that predicts the presence of the Alzheimer’s disease-associated protein beta-amyloid in the brain. In a study published in Neurology, the NIA demonstrated how the new blood test could lower costs and expand the availability of diagnostic studies for the neurodegenerative condition.
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During the study, researchers from Washington University, University of California, University of Pennsylvania, University of Melbourne, Edith Cowan University, and Lund University found that the test performs comparably to existing brain scans and spinal tap-based tests.
While pre-existing tests are expensive, invasive, and have limited availability, the new blood test offers an accurate alternative. Using various blood samples, Scientists found that the test could effectively predict the presence of amyloid plaques visible on a PET brain scan. Greater accuracy was noted upon studying the version of the APOE each patient had, a gene which is linked to the disease risk of Alzheimer’s.
The new blood test could lower costs and expand the availability of diagnostic studies for the neurodegenerative condition.
Researchers concluded that blood sample testing could make it easier to screen healthy people for potential enrolment into clinical trials that provide interventionist and preventative treatment. However, a major limitation was that the blood samples used were predominantly white and could not be generalised to other demographics.
Nevertheless, the researchers suggest that the new blood test has the potential to become a powerful tool to expand diagnostic abilities for Alzheimer’s.
Li Y, Schindler SE, Bollinger JG, Ovod V, Mawuenyega KG, Weiner MW, Shaw LM, Masters CL, Fowler CJ, Trojanowski JQ, Korecka M, Martins RN, Janelidze S, Hansson O, Bateman RJ. Validation of Plasma Amyloid-? 42/40 for Detecting Alzheimer Disease Amyloid Plaques. Neurology. 2022 Feb 15;98(7):e688-e699. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000013211.
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