Blood test as possible diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease

Date:
March 10, 2022
Source:
University of Kentucky
Summary:
A recent study shows promising results for a blood test that could
be used to identify Alzheimer's changes in the brain before the
onset of any symptoms, which could result in preventative treatments
being used before any memory loss.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A recent study published out of the lab of Donna Wilcock, Ph.D., the
Robert P.

and Mildred A. Moores Endowed Chair in Alzheimer's Disease, at University
of Kentucky shows promising results for a blood test that could be
used to identify Alzheimer's changes in the brain before the onset of
any symptoms, which could result in preventative treatments being used
before any memory loss.


==========================================================================
In their paper, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of
the Alzheimer's Association, the researchers note that the detection
of disease- causing pathology associated with Alzheimer's disease and
Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (VCID)
is limited to cognitive evaluations and neuroimaging like MRI and PET
scans. Due to recent technological developments, blood-based biomarkers
of disease are now available and the team at Sanders-Brown believes they
could be beneficial in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's and other dementias. A biomarker -- short for biological marker -- is a measurable indicator that captures what is happening in a cell or an organism at a given moment.

Zachary Winder, MD/PhD student at the UK College of Medicine, led the
work within the Wilcock lab which used the extensive bank of samples
found within UK's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center autopsy cohort,
which consists of Kentucky residents who have agreed to donate their
brains at time of death. For this study, researchers identified samples
from participants who had blood taken and banked within two years of
their death. They then tested blood samples from 90 participants for a
variety of proteins with the goal of identifying biomarkers in the blood
that could predict changes in the brain that might have contributed
to dementia.

They believe their results support the continued study of blood-based biomarkers as a clinical screening tool for Alzheimer's and VCID. "This
study provides evidence that a blood test could be used to estimate the presence of Alzheimer's disease changes and blood vessel damage in the
brain. We identified proteins in blood that indicate protein changes and changes in the brain known to cause dementia. Higher pTau181 and lower beta-amyloid in the blood indicate amyloid plaques of Alzheimer's in the brain," said Wilcock, who is associate director at Sanders-Brown. "Protein markers of inflammation in the blood were also associated with higher
amyloid plaques in the brain. We also looked at proteins that might have
a relationship with damage to the blood vessels of the brain. We found
that inflammation proteins in blood were related to damage to blood
vessels in the brain." Wilcock, Winder and the rest of the research
team agree that establishing biomarkers that allow doctors to diagnose
and monitor patients is a crucial step towards identifying at-risk but
not yet symptomatic patients, who could be more responsive to potential therapeutics.

"Blood samples can be easily obtained, even at primary care visits. The development of a blood test would eliminate the need for expensive,
specialized PET scans or invasive, uncomfortable spinal taps," said
Wilcock.

Thanks to the community-based cohort at UK, researchers have found through autopsies that there are mixed causes of dementia and that proteins in the blood are associated with brain changes. They believe those discoveries
provide additional evidence that blood biomarkers have a strong potential
for diagnosis of Alzheimer's and other causes of dementia.

Up until recent years the only way to know if someone had Alzheimer's
or a related dementia was after death through an autopsy. Advances in
research regarding biomarkers, like this recent study from Sanders-Brown,
are allowing researchers to see changes in the brain while people are
alive, monitor the disease's progression, and test the effectiveness of potential treatments.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Kentucky. Original
written by Hillary Smith. Note: Content may be edited for style and
length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Zachary Winder, Tiffany L. Sudduth, Sonya Anderson, Ela Patel, Janna
Neltner, Barbara J. Martin, Katherine E. Snyder, Erin L. Abner,
Gregory A. Jicha, Peter T. Nelson, Donna M. Wilcock. Examining the
association between blood‐based biomarkers and human post
mortem neuropathology in the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's
Disease Research Center autopsy cohort. Alzheimer's & Dementia,
2022; DOI: 10.1002/alz.12639 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220310115059.htm

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