Using a simple blood test, it is possible to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease 3.5 years early.
Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College in London discovered a blood test that may be able to identify the risk of getting the condition years before a clinical diagnosis is confirmed.
The study, which was published in the journal Brain, reveals that there are components of human blood that can affect the production of neurons from neural stem cells in the brain. Neurogenesis occurs in the hippocampus, the region of the brain that regulates learning and memory.
In its early stages, Alzheimer’s disease inhibits the production of new hippocampal cells.
Researchers collected blood samples and observed 56 individuals diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), whose symptoms include a deterioration in memory, language, or judgment and can occasionally develop to Alzheimer’s disease, over the course of many years.
Those diagnosed with MCI develop Alzheimer’s disease at a far higher rate than those who do not; of the 56 research participants, 36 were later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Previously, neurogenesis in Alzheimer’s disease patients could only be studied postmortem.
Using blood samples from patients in the early phases of Alzheimer’s disease development, researchers determined that neurogenesis changes occurred 3.5 years prior to the clinical diagnosis.
Researchers may have discovered the first evidence in humans indicating how the circulatory system can influence the brain’s ability to produce new cells, providing a timeline for the onset of Alzheimer’s.
Professor Sandrine Thuret, the study’s principal author, explained, “We aimed to use this model to understand the process of neurogenesis and to use changes in this process to predict Alzheimer’s disease.”
Previous research conducted on young mice revealed that their blood has a rejuvenating effect on the cognition of older mice by enhancing hippocampus neurogenesis, as observed by Thuret.
She continued, “This gave us the idea to model neurogenesis in a dish using human brain cells and human blood.” In our study, we wanted to utilize this model to understand the process of neurogenesis and to use alterations in this process to anticipate Alzheimer’s disease. We discovered the first evidence in humans that the circulatory system can influence the brain’s capacity to generate new cells.
The discoveries may allow for the non-invasive prediction of Alzheimer’s disease and shed light on the initial stages of the illness’s progression in the brain.
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