Innovative blood test detects Alzheimer’s disease via protein structure changes
Recent research funded by NIA introduces a blood test that detects Alzheimer’s by analyzing protein structural changes linked to genetic risk factors, promising earlier diagnosis and better outcomes.
Recent National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded research has uncovered a new kind of blood-based biomarker test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. The new test broadens scientists’ understanding of Alzheimer's disease by revealing shifts in a patient’s protein structure, according to an announcement.
By utilizing mass spectrometry and machine learning to review more than 500 blood plasma samples from participants with Alzheimer's, mild cognitive impairment, or those with neither diagnosis, the researchers pinpointed “changes in protein structure associated with genetic risk for Alzheimer’s—specifically in variants of the ApoE gene.” An association between those changes and neuropsychiatric symptom differences in males and females was also found.
Furthermore, the researchers “used machine learning to develop a diagnostic panel of three proteins—C1QA, CLUS, and ApoB—representing Alzheimer’s-associated structural changes.” It successfully differentiated between the three study groups and monitored disease stages and advancement, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The study authors hope these findings lead to earlier Alzheimer's diagnoses, improving patient outcomes.
