Blood Protein Predicts Alzheimer's Progression
BERLIN (Dispatches)--Scientists have shown that a protein found in the blood can be used to precisely monitor disease progression of Alzheimer's long before first clinical signs appear. This blood marker offers new possibilities for testing therapies.
When brain cells die, their remains can be detected in the blood. "Normally, however, such proteins are rapidly degraded in the blood and are therefore not very suitable as markers for a neurodegenerative disease," explains Mathias Jucker, a senior researcher at the DZNE's Tuebingen site and at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH). "An exception, however, is a small piece of so-called neurofilament that is surprisingly resistant to this degradation." The blood test of Jucker and colleagues is based on this protein. In the current study, the scientists show that neurofilament accumulates in the blood long before the onset of clinical symptoms (i.e. already during the so-called preclinical phase) and that it very sensitively reflects the course of the disease and enables predictions on future developments.
The study is based on data and samples from 405 individuals that were analyzed within international research collaboration: the "Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network" (DIAN). In addition to the DZNE, the HIH and the University Hospital Tuebingen, the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (USA) and other institutions all over the world are involved. This network investigates families in which Alzheimer's disease already occurs in middle age due to certain gene variations. Genetic analyses allow very accurate predictions as to whether and when a family member will develop dementia.
When brain cells die, their remains can be detected in the blood. "Normally, however, such proteins are rapidly degraded in the blood and are therefore not very suitable as markers for a neurodegenerative disease," explains Mathias Jucker, a senior researcher at the DZNE's Tuebingen site and at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH). "An exception, however, is a small piece of so-called neurofilament that is surprisingly resistant to this degradation." The blood test of Jucker and colleagues is based on this protein. In the current study, the scientists show that neurofilament accumulates in the blood long before the onset of clinical symptoms (i.e. already during the so-called preclinical phase) and that it very sensitively reflects the course of the disease and enables predictions on future developments.
The study is based on data and samples from 405 individuals that were analyzed within international research collaboration: the "Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network" (DIAN). In addition to the DZNE, the HIH and the University Hospital Tuebingen, the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (USA) and other institutions all over the world are involved. This network investigates families in which Alzheimer's disease already occurs in middle age due to certain gene variations. Genetic analyses allow very accurate predictions as to whether and when a family member will develop dementia.