New Research Could Help Develop Blood Test to Detect Alzheimer's Disease

A new research from Germany could pave way for a blood test that could detect Alzheimer's disease. The test could help identify people with the disease and provide early treatment.

Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible and progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills which in turn lead to the affected person being unable to carry out simple tasks essential for daily living. In most people with Alzheimer's, symptoms first appear after age 60.

Latest data from the Alzheimer's Association shows that over 5 million people in the U.S. have AD, a number that is expected to increase to 13. 8 to 16 million people by 2050.

Currently, the disease can only be tested via exams to test cognitive ability and memory and brain scans. And, only post-mortem examination of the brain can determine the extent of the disease. Many researchers are currently trying to find a way to develop a blood- test for the disease .

In the present study, researchers from Saarland University  focused on molecules called miRNA. These molecules are small, non-coding RNAs present in all plants and animals and are associated with regulating the gene activity. miRNA have already been studied for their contribution to cancer and heart diseases.

The study included blood samples of 70 people including 48 Alzheimer's patients. Researchers found that test subjects' blood samples had altered levels of 140 miRNAs. The team then chose 12 of these miRNAs and put them on a panel for further testing. These miRNAs were considered to be important players in the regulation of over 2000 genes that code for nerve cell development, according to a news release.

Researchers then tested blood samples of another set of 202 people who had some neurological disorder like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis or mild cognitive brain impairment.

The study showed that the panel of 12 miRNAs could distinguish people who had AD from those who didn't. However, it wasn't able to differentiate between different neurological disorders.

"This is an interesting approach to studying changes in blood in Alzheimer's and suggests that miRNAs could be playing a role in the disease," said Dr Eric Karran, Director of Research at Alzheimer's Research UK.

"A blood test to help detect Alzheimer's could be a useful addition to a doctor's diagnostic armoury, but such a test must be well validated before it's considered for use. We need to see these findings confirmed in larger samples and more work is needed to improve the test's ability to distinguish Alzheimer's from other neurological conditions," said Karran in a news release.

The study is published in the journal Genome Biology.