Early prognosis of dementia
A group of German scientists has discovered an indicator whose tracking by blood test can predict the development of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases long before symptoms appear.
Neurodegenerative diseases are not incurable today. One of the main reasons for the lack of effective therapy is that treatment is usually started too late – the disease can be asymptomatic for a long time, and years pass before the first symptoms appear. In their study, the scientists took up the selection of a parameter that could be easily tracked, and which would allow diagnosing the disease at an early stage.
Previously, similar attempts have already been made, in particular, for Alzheimer's disease, but all researchers focused on the detection of amyloid proteins in the blood, the formation of which in the brain is characteristic of the course of Alzheimer's disease. A new study is devoted to the search for evidence of the process of neurodegeneration in the blood.
When brain cells die, their remnants can theoretically be detected in the blood, but most often they degrade quickly, which makes it difficult to detect them. The exception was proteins known as thin polypeptide neurofilaments – small particles resistant to degradation. It was found that their accumulation in the blood precedes the manifestation of the first symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases.
In the course of the study, data from 405 experimental subjects were analyzed as part of the clinical trials of DIAN (Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network). These studies involved people whose families had already experienced early development of Alzheimer's disease due to the presence of several genetic variants. Genetic analysis allows you to accurately predict whether a person will develop dementia, and when it will happen.
Scientists analyzed the concentration of neurofilaments in the blood of these people from year to year. Approximately 16 years before the onset of symptoms of dementia, which was assumed on the basis of genetic analysis, significant changes were noticeable. Scientists emphasize that we are not talking about the absolute value of the concentration of neurofilaments in the blood, but about the individual change in this parameter over time. Further studies have shown that changes in the concentration of neurofilaments fairly accurately reflect the process of degradation of neurons, thereby allowing conclusions to be drawn about the future progression of the disease.
Article by Preische et al. Serum neurofilament dynamics predicts neurodegeneration and clinical progression in presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease is published in Nature Medicine.
Anastasia Poznyak, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru / based on the materials of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE): Early Prediction of Alzheimer's Progression in Blood.