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New test can detect elusive signs of Alzheimer’s disease in blood
CT scan of an 84-year-old man with Alzheimer’s disease. The new test can detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease in blood samples more accurately than previous tests, researchers say. (Scott Kamazin, Alamy)
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TORONTO — A new test developed by neuroscientists at the University of Pittsburgh can detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease in blood samples more accurately than previous tests.
According to the team’s research, the test works by detecting a new biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease called brain-derived tau. Published in the medical journal Brain on monday.
Tau is a protein that supports neurons or nerve cells in the brain. Aberrant accumulation of tau, especially in protein tangles, is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Although tau is primarily associated with brain cells, cells outside the body can produce a variation called “big tau” in research.
By figuring out how to detect brain-derived tau in the blood, the team created a more accessible method of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease than existing methods.
“Neuroimaging tests are now required for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease,” lead author Thomas Karikari said in a media release issued Monday. “These tests are expensive and time-consuming to schedule.” And even in the United States, many patients do not have access to MRI or PET scanners.”
The current framework for detecting Alzheimer’s disease set by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association is called the Amyloid, Tau and Neurodegeneration Method.
The method requires scientists to detect the three components of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain: amyloid plaques, tau tangles, and neurodegeneration. This can be accomplished by imaging or analysis of cerebrospinal fluid samples, but these methods are expensive and resource-intensive, Karikari said. So Karikari’s team set out to develop a simple, less invasive and cost-effective blood test that could detect the same biomarkers.
“The most important utility of blood biomarkers is to improve people’s lives and improve clinical reliability and risk prediction in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease,” Karikari said.
The most important utility of blood biomarkers is to improve people’s lives and improve clinical reliability and risk prediction in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease.
– Thomas Karikari, Senior Research Author
So far, blood diagnostics have been able to detect two of the three biomarkers required for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: the amyloid and tau versions. But they struggle to detect his third component, a neurodegenerative marker specific to Alzheimer’s disease. So the team developed a technique that uses specialized antibodies that selectively bind to brain-derived tau to distinguish between brain-derived tau in the blood and free-floating big tau.
Karikari and his team believe that this new, more accessible blood diagnostic technology will improve the design of clinical trials and increase trial enrollments to include patients from populations that have historically been overlooked in such trials. We hope to expand. To that end, they are willing to conduct large-scale clinical blood screening for brain-derived tau with a wide range of participants from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, memory clinics, and communities. planning.
“There is a great need for diversity in clinical studies, not only by skin color but also by socioeconomic background,” Karikari said.
“To develop better drugs, we need to enroll people from different backgrounds into trials, not just those who live near university medical centers. Blood tests are cheap, safe, and controllable. It is easy to use and can improve clinical confidence in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease and selecting participants for clinical trials and disease monitoring.”
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