A new study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health has shown that a new blood test can accurately predict the presence of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, according to the findings of researchers. It has been reported that a blood test can predict the presence of beta-amyloid, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, in the brain. In comparison to current brain scan or spinal tap-based tests, the new blood test could reduce costs and increase diagnostic studies for Alzheimer’s disease availability.
In Alzheimer’s disease, beta-amyloid protein builds up in the brain and causes plaques to form, which can lead to cell death. One of the most important aspects of Alzheimer’s diagnosis and research is checking for the presence of these amyloid plaques in the cerebral cortex. Alzheimer’s disease can be ruled out as a cause of memory loss in patients who have amyloid deposits in their brains, according to researchers. It can also assist doctors in identifying patients who will benefit from amyloid-targeting medications. Clinical trials for treatments to prevent or delay the onset of cognitive symptoms may help people without any symptoms of dementia who have amyloid plaques in their brains.
The presence of beta-amyloid in the brain can be detected in two ways. Spinal taps can be used to determine the amount of beta-amyloid in cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid that encircles and protects the brain and spine). Images of the brain’s beta-amyloid plaques can be generated using PET brain scans. In spite of the accuracy of both methods, they are costly, invasive, and only available in very limited quantities. Beta-amyloid has recently been developed as a highly sensitive blood test, but there were concerns about how the test would perform in the clinic on blood samples that had been collected and processed in different ways. Concerns about the accuracy of the blood test in predicting amyloid plaques on PET brain scans were addressed by researchers from Washington University, UCLA; UC San Francisco; the University of Pennsylvania; the University of Melbourne and Edith Cowan University in Australia; and Lund University in Sweden.
The blood test was found to accurately predict the presence of beta-amyloid in the brain across all of the samples tested by the researchers. The test became even more accurate when the researchers considered each person’s unique APOE (a gene linked to Alzheimer’s disease risk) variant. A blood sample will make it easier to identify healthy people who may be eligible for participation in clinical trials testing interventions to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s.
Despite its promising results, the study relied on blood samples from white, affluent individuals, and the authors cautioned that the findings may not be applicable to other demographic groups. The authors conclude that this new blood test has the potential to be a valuable diagnostic tool for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Blood tests, rather than MRIs and spinal taps, could reduce costs, increase test availability, and even improve clinical trial recruitment for diverse populations, according to the researchers.
