Medical research is taking significant steps towards a more accessible diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, thanks to a study conducted on over 5,700 adults of Hispanic and Latin origin in the United States. Researchers from the University of California in San Diego have shown that specific biomarkers present in the blood can reveal the first signs of cognitive decline, opening the way to simpler and cheaper diagnostic tests than those available today.
A turning point in early diagnosis
Currently there is only one blood test approved by the FDA to support Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the Lumipulse G PUU217/Aβ42, expensive and accessible only in a few specialized centers. The use of blood as a reliable tool for early diagnosis therefore remains a field still to be explored. To fill this gap, the team led by Freddie Márquez analyzed the data of the Study of Latinos – Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging, part of the Hispan Community Health Study, the wider study on the health of Hispanic and Latin communities in the USA.
Blood biomarkers could integrate, not to replace existing tests
Adults of Hispanic and Latin origin show a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other dementias, with projections that indicate significant increases in the coming decades. Yet these communities remain little represented in research. The study therefore fills an important void, offering useful data to develop more inclusive diagnostic tools.
Unexpected results and discoveries
Analyzing blood samples of 5,712 adults between 50 and 86 years old, the researchers found that high levels of NFL (neuronal damage marker) and GFAP (brain inflammation marker) were associated with higher self-refined cognitive declines. In addition, NFL and Ptau-181 correlated with memory problems reported by the participants. On the contrary, the Amiloid-Beta protein, despite being a classic marker of cerebral Alzheimer, showed no relationship with the subjective cognitive decline.
A particularly relevant fact is that the association between NFL and cognitive decline also persisted in cognitively healthy individuals, suggesting the possibility of detecting changes even before the appearance of clinical symptoms. However, Márquez and colleagues invite to caution: further studies will be needed before these biomarkers can enter widespread clinical practice.
The publication of the results on Jama Network Open represents an important step towards the creation of most accessible blood tests for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, with a potentially decisive impact especially for the communities that have limited access to traditional diagnostic tools.
Related reading
