New test could detect Alzheimer's disease 3.5 years before clinical
diagnosis

Date:
January 27, 2023
Source:
King's College London
Summary:
New research has established a blood-based test that could be used
to predict the risk of Alzheimer's disease up to 3.5 years before
clinical diagnosis.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London has established a blood-based test that
could be used to predict the risk of Alzheimer's disease up to 3.5 years
before clinical diagnosis.


==========================================================================
The study, published in the journal Brain, supports the idea that
components in the human blood can modulate the formation of new brain
cells, a process termed neurogenesis. Neurogenesis occurs in an important
part of the brain called the hippocampus that is involved in learning
and memory.

While Alzheimer's disease affects the formation of new brain cells
in the hippocampus during the early stages of the disease, previous
studies have only been able to study neurogenesis in its later stages
through autopsies.

To understand the early changes, researchers collected blood samples over several years from 56 individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI),
a condition where someone will begin to experience a worsening of their
memory or cognitive ability. While not everyone experiencing MCI goes
on to develop Alzheimer's disease, those with the condition progress
to a diagnosis at a much higher rate than the wider population. Of
the 56 participants in the study, 36 went on to receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Dr Aleksandra Maruszak, one of the study's joint first authors from King's IoPPN explains, "In our study, we treated brain cells with blood taken
from people with MCI, exploring how those cells changed in response to
blood as Alzheimer's disease progressed." In studying how blood affected
the brain cells, the researchers made several key discoveries. The blood samples collected from participants over the years who subsequently deterioratedand developed Alzheimer's disease promoted a decrease in
cell growth and division and an increase in apoptotic cell death (the
process by which cells are programmed to die). However, the researchers
noted that these samples also increased the conversion of immature brain
cells to hippocampal neurons.

While the underlying reasons for the increased neurogenesis remain
unclear, the researchers theorise that it may be an early compensating mechanism for the neurodegeneration (loss of brain cells) experienced
by those developing Alzheimer's disease.

Professor Sandrine Thuret, the study's lead author from King's IoPPN
said, "Previous studies have shown that blood from young mice can
have a rejuvenating effect on the cognition of older mice by improving hippocampal neurogenesis.

This gave us the idea of modelling the process of neurogenesis in a dish
using human brain cells and human blood. In our study, we aimed to use
this model to understand the process of neurogenesis and to use changes in
this process to predict Alzheimer's disease and found the first evidence
in humans that the body's circulatory system can have an effect on the
brain's ability to form new cells." When the researchers used only
the blood samples collected furthest away from when the participants
were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, they found that the changes in neurogenesis occurred 3.5 years prior to a clinical diagnosis.

Dr Edina Silajdži?, the study's joint first author added, "Our
findings are extremely important, potentially allowing us to predict onset
of Alzheimer's early in a non-invasive fashion. This could complement
other blood- based biomarkers that reflect the classical signs of the
disease, such as the accumulation of amyloid and tau (the 'flagship'
proteins of Alzheimer's disease)." Dr Hyunah Lee, the study's joint
first author said, "It is now essential to validate these findings in
a bigger and more diverse group of people. We are excited about the
potential applications of the blood-based test we used. For example, it
can help stratify individuals with memory problems for a clinical trial of disease-modifying drugs for Alzheimer's." The researchers say that these findings could present an opportunity to further understand the changes
the brain goes through at the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease.

This study was possible thanks to funding from the John and Lucille van
Geest Foundation, the Medical Research Council UK, the Cohen Charitable
Trust, the Galen and Hilary Weston Foundation and the Rhodes Trust.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Alzheimer's_Research # Healthy_Aging # Brain_Tumor #
Diseases_and_Conditions
o Mind_&_Brain
# Alzheimer's # Dementia # Disorders_and_Syndromes #
Caregiving
* RELATED_TERMS
o Alzheimer's_disease o Personalized_medicine o
Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies o Lactose_intolerance o
Positron_emission_tomography o Clinical_depression o
Psychopathology o Blood_transfusion

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by King's_College_London. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Aleksandra Maruszak, Edina Silajdžić, Hyunah Lee,
Tytus Murphy,
Benjamine Liu, Liu Shi, Chiara de Lucia, Abdel Douiri, Evgenia
Salta, Alejo J Nevado, Charlotte E Teunissen, Pieter J Visser,
Jack Price, Henrik Zetterberg, Simon Lovestone, Sandrine
Thuret. Predicting progression to Alzheimer's disease with human
hippocampal progenitors exposed to serum. Brain, 2023; DOI:
10.1093/brain/awac472 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230127131207.htm

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