As covered in some of my previous posts, Alzheimer’s is a truly heartbreaking disease. Loved ones watch while their family and friends disappear in front of their eyes—physically present, but no longer the person they once were. That’s why it’s so exciting that doctors have found a blood test that may help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease years before the symptoms appear. Previous methods of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease were often costly, invasive, and only useful once symptoms had already set in.
Alzheimer’s is caused by the buildup of plaques containing beta amyloid in the brain. Tau proteins are normally found in the brain. Usually, they help stabilize microtubules, which provide shape and structure to the cytoplasm (the liquid inside the cell). In Alzheimer’s disease, abnormal chemical changes cause the tau proteins to stick to other tau proteins, forming tangles that interfere with communications between cells. As these plaques accumulate, they interfere with the normal function of brain cells and lead to cell death.
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, focused on developing methods for detecting different types of tau molecules in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. They assessed five tests before settling on “the NT1 assay” test, which preliminary testing found was able to detect Alzheimer’s disease accurately.
More testing is necessary to validate the researchers’ findings, but if this new test lives up to its potential, it could be a game-changer for Alzheimer’s treatment. Early detection allows for earlier treatment. It would also give people a chance to prepare themselves and their loved ones for the inevitable.
This type of breakthrough might also be thing that finally leads to a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. It’s impossible to say, but the more we learn about this disease and how to detect it, the closer we come to finally developing a treatment.
