The British scientists have done a major advancement in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease as they have developed a blood test that can predict the onset of the disease.
According to the scientists, they have identified 10 proteins in the blood which can predict the onset of disease.
The study, led by researchers at King’s College London (KCL) and Oxford University, analysed over 1,000 individuals.
The largest study of its kind to date is seen as a major breakthrough by the scientific fraternity in the field Alzheimer’s study.
For the study, the research team tried to find out the differences in the blood of 476 people with Alzheimer’s disease 220 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 452 healthy people. The researchers followed the participants for a period of 10 years. The blood samples of participants belonging to all the three groups were studied for 26 proteins previously shown to be associated with Alzheimer’s.
While analyzing the blood samples, researchers found 16 proteins that are strongly associated with brain shrinkage in either MCI or Alzheimer’s.
Study lead author from KCL, Abdul Hye, said, “Memory problems are very common, but the challenge is identifying who is likely to develop dementia. “
He further said, “There are thousands of proteins in the blood, and this study is the culmination of many years’ work identifying which ones are clinically relevant.”
The researchers carried a second series of tests during which they found 10 proteins which predicted whether people with mild cognitive impairment would develop Alzheimer’s in later stage. The identified proteins have the ability to predict the onset of the disease with an accuracy of 87 percent.
The researchers have also expressed need for more extensive studies to validate their findings in further sample sets.
The scientific report was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia on Tuesday.
