According to a recent Time article, scientists have identified 10 proteins in the blood that can predict the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The study, which was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, is considered an important step toward developing a blood test for the disease. Developing drug treatments has been difficult because they are often given in clinical trials when the disease has already progressed too far. Identifying the disease earlier could pave the way for drugs to halt its progression.
In the study, researchers examined blood samples from 1,148 people. There were 476 with Alzheimer’s, 220 with ‘Mild Cognitive Impairment’ (MCI) and 452 elderly control subjects who did not have dementia. All the blood samples were tested for 26 proteins that were previously linked to Alzheimer’s, and some the participants also had an MRI scan on their brain. Read the full story