{"id":3246,"date":"2022-03-31T01:46:32","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T01:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/alzheimers-blood-test-highly-accurate-in-large-international-study-medical-news-today\/"},"modified":"2022-03-31T01:46:32","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T01:46:32","slug":"alzheimers-blood-test-highly-accurate-in-large-international-study-medical-news-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/31\/alzheimers-blood-test-highly-accurate-in-large-international-study-medical-news-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Alzheimer's: Blood test highly accurate in large, international study – Medical News Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Randall Bateman, M.D.<\/a> \u2014 the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology \u2014 and colleagues set out to determine the diagnostic accuracy of a new blood test for detecting early signs of AD<\/a>.
AD occurs due to the accumulation of beta-amyloid<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source>, a protein that clumps together to form \u201csticky\u201d plaques on the brain. These plaques affect the transmission of brain cell signals and may result in the death of brain cells, leading to symptoms of AD. These symptoms include memory loss, mood changes, and difficulties with speech.
Two of the most problematic proteins are beta-amyloid 40 and beta-amyloid 42 because health experts believe they contribute the most to the creation of sticky plaque.
The new study, which appears in the journal Neurology<\/em><\/a>, started with a basic question about beta-amyloid production, its clearance in people, and why amyloid plaques develop as individuals get older and develop AD.
\u201cWe launched our study to measure that amyloid-beta 42 is specifically impaired in its clearance out of the brain and central nervous system,\u201d senior study author Dr. Bateman explained to Medical News Today<\/em>.
They then looked at the formation of beta-amyloid 42 and how it traveled from the brain into the blood.
\u201c[W]e tracked how amyloid-beta is removed from the [central nervous system (CNS)], showing ~50% is removed across the blood-brain barrier to the blood,\u201d he added. This then led to the discovery that looking at the ratio of amyloid-beta 42 and amyloid-beta 40 could identify whether or not somebody was forming amyloid plaques on their brain.
\u201cFrom this discovery,\u201d he added, \u201cwe sought to test and validate [our findings] in several large national Alzheimer\u2019s disease studies, and the current publication in Neurology<\/em> is that work from studies in Europe, the U.S., and Australia.\u201d
Dr. Bateman and colleagues recruited participants from the Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Study (AIBL), and the Swedish BioFINDER study.
The research team selected participants with at least one stored plasma sample and a brain imaging scan within 1 year of sample collection. The scientists performed this regardless of the cognitive condition of the individual.
Each cohort had a different diagnostic classification for its members.
The ADNI cohort had cognitively unimpaired (CN), significant memory concern (SMC), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) categories.
The AIBL cohort included CN, MCI, and AD and dementia categories.
The BioFINDER cohort included CN, MCI, and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) categories.
Throughout the study, the scientists defined cognitive impairment as the \u201cobjective evidence of cognitive impairment, rather than by subjective symptoms.\u201d This was done to harmonize the various diagnostic classifications.
By the end of the study, individuals with SMC and SCD were included in the cognitively unimpaired category, while the cognitively impaired category included individuals with MCI and AD dementia.
The team\u2019s findings revealed that across all samples, the blood test was effective in predicting the presence of beta-amyloid in the body.
In addition, when the researchers considered the presence of a particular variant of the gene APO \u03b54<\/em><\/a><\/hl-trusted-source>, a known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer\u2019s, alongside the blood test, they achieved an even higher degree of accuracy for predicting AD.
\u201cThese results suggest that plasma [beta-amyloid] with APOE \u03b54<\/em> status would be helpful for both screening cognitively unimpaired individuals for potential enrollment in AD secondary prevention clinical trials and testing cognitively impaired individuals in the clinic to determine whether AD is the probable etiology,\u201d conclude the researchers.
\u201cThe fact that the blood test performed well across [different cohorts study designs and people] indicates that it is a robust measure of amyloid plaques and can be used in a variety of settings,\u201d they add.
Dr. Jennifer Bramen, Ph.D.<\/a>, a senior research scientist at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was not involved in the research, explained the study findings to MNT<\/em>.
She said:
\u201cUntil recently, patients have relied on expensive tests like positron emission tomography to measure amyloid levels in the brain. A well-validated, blood-based test of [beta-amyloid 42\/40] [\u2026] may be more accessible to patients and could aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d
Despite this positive reaction, the research is not without its limitations.
The authors write that a major limitation was the low diversity among their sample sizes. As such, they are unclear if their findings apply to wider demographics.
However, the researchers also write that further studies to address these issues are underway.
Until then, they are delighted that their research has presented a potentially more affordable and time-saving alternative for detecting AD in individuals.
As part of our Medical Myths series, this article covers 11 myths about dementia, including the role of vitamins and supplements and ways to reduce\u2026<\/a>
Scientists do not know what causes Alzheimer's disease. Age is a major risk factor, and heart health and head trauma may have an impact. Scientists\u2026<\/a>
People in the Black community are more likely to develop dementia than white people. This racial disparity is partly due to social factors. Learn more.<\/a>
The Asian community is incredibly diverse, so it is difficult to draw conclusions about the factors that contribute to dementia in these populations\u2026<\/a>
There are 10 early signs and symptoms of dementia, including misplacing things, difficulty solving problems, and confusing times and places. Learn\u2026<\/a>
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source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Randall Bateman, M.D. \u2014 the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology \u2014 and colleagues set out to determine the diagnostic accuracy of a new blood test for detecting early signs of AD. AD occurs due to the accumulation of beta-amyloid, a protein that clumps together to form \u201csticky\u201d plaques on the brain. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3246"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3246\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}