Blood Test Can Predict The Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease

Proteins in blood serve as a validated biomarker to predict an individual's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Proteins in blood serve as a validated biomarker to predict an individual's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, as per a new study from Lund University in Sweden.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by decline in memory and cognition. The current test outperforms the traditional models, used to predict the risk of the disease.

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‘Proteins in blood serve as a validated biomarker to predict an individual's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. This would lead to a cost-effective management strategy allowing physicians to do an early diagnosis and begin treatment at an earlier stage of the disease.’

Blood test in Alzheimer's disease:

The study included 573 people of average age 71, with mild cognitive impairment from the two major multi-center studies: the Swedish bio finderStudy and ADNI, the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The study model combined the levels of two proteins 'phosphorylated tau' and 'neurofilamet light' in the blood. It thereby offers the most reliable result and prognosis as compared to general cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) analyses or the current basic model involving age, gender, education, and basic memory tests.

The researchers are also validating an app - that integrates basic data (age, gender, education, and basic cognition tests) with results from the individual's biomarkers in the blood to predict an individual's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease within two or four years.

Alzheimer's Risk Assessment Calculator
Alzheimer’s Risk Assessment Calculator is a tool to measure the level of Alzheimer’s disease. It also provides tips to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

"In addition to this initial evaluation, the methods that are currently on offer for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease are costly and time-consuming methods using PET cameras and CSF analyses, which are only available in certain specialist healthcare settings. Our goal over the last few years has been to find simple methods that can be used in primary care to make an early diagnosis and to begin treatment to relieve symptoms at an earlier stage. This will require more studies, but we have absolutely come one major step closer to our goal", says Oskar Hansson, a professor in neurology at Lund University and consultant at the clinical memory research unit at Skåne University Hospital.

Facts on Alzheimer's disease:

Dementia Risk Calculator
Dementia Risk Calculator is a tool to find out the risk of dementia among people over the age of 65.It also provides diet tips on Dementia.

More than 5 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's.
An estimated 5.8 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's dementia in 2020.
Eighty percent are age 75 or older.
One in 10 people age 65 and older (10%) has Alzheimer's dementia.

Source-Medindia

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