Researchers said: “Scientists now know that it begins many years before symptoms appear”
A blood test could help detect dementia years before symptoms appear. A groundbreaking new study has found that the test measuring the levels of a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease predicted the onset of symptoms 25 years early.
Dementia is a syndrome, or a group of symptoms, linked to the ongoing decline of the brain. It can result in issues such as memory loss and behavioural changes.
However, it is not typically diagnosed until after symptoms have appeared. In this study, which was published in JAMA Network Open, the team focused on plasma phosphorylated tau 217 ( p-tau217), a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease-related brain changes.
This protein had previously been associated with dementia in community samples. However, in this study, 2,766 female participants were monitored. Over a 25-year period, 1,311 developed the combined end point of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia.
Researchers discovered that greater levels of p-tau217 were found in women who had MCI or dementia. They wrote: “In this cohort study, higher baseline plasma p-tau217 was associated with incident MCI or dementia for up to 25 years of follow-up among older women.
“Including p-tau217 improved discrimination of dementia relative to demographic characteristics alone, with similar performance in Black and White women. However, the performance of p-tau217 for MCI was lower in Black compared with White women, suggesting a need to further investigate MCI as a diagnostic construct across racial groups.
“P-tau217 had a larger magnitude of association with dementia among women assigned to estrogen plus progestin compared with placebo. P-tau217 associations with MCI or dementia were larger in magnitude for women older than 70 years and APOE ε4 carriers.
“Our findings suggest a potential moderating role of age, race, APOE ε4, and HT in the associations between p-tau217 and cognitive outcomes; further studies are needed to confirm these findings.”
They added: “Overall, our results support the value of plasma p-tau217 as an easily measured biomarker for future MCI or dementia that may have a variety of uses in both research and clinical practice among diverse populations.”
It is already recognised that Alzheimer’s disease is thought to be caused by the abnormal build-up of proteins in and around brain cells. However, this study suggests that the proteins could be there long before symptoms start.
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These proteins are listed by the NHS as a cause of the condition. The health body says on its website: “One of the proteins involved is called amyloid, deposits of which form plaques around brain cells. The other protein is called tau, deposits of which form tangles within brain cells.
“Although it’s not known exactly what causes this process to begin, scientists now know that it begins many years before symptoms appear.”
Study limitations
However, there were limitations to this study, mainly due to the small sample range of participants. Study authors said: “Our study has several limitations. We examined only older women.
“We did not examine Alzheimer’s Disease because the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) did not classify dementia according to subtype; thus, AUC estimates were likely attenuated for all-cause dementia relative to AD-specific analyses.
“The sample size for Black women was smaller relative to that of White women, and residual confounding may have affected the results.”
Symptoms
In the early stages, the main symptom of Alzheimer’s disease is memory lapses. For example, someone with early Alzheimer’s disease may:
- Forget about recent conversations or events
- Misplace items
- Forget the names of places and objects
- Have trouble thinking of the right word
- Ask questions repetitively
- Show poor judgment or find it harder to make decisions
- Become less flexible and more hesitant to try new things
There are often signs of mood changes, such as increasing anxiety or agitation, or periods of confusion. If you or someone you know is displaying signs of Alzheimer’s disease, you should speak to a doctor.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.dailyrecord.co.uk
