April 26, 2024

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Nature Medicine: Alzheimer’s disease is predictable easily?

Nature Medicine: Alzheimer’s disease is predictable easily?

 


Nature Medicine: Alzheimer’s disease is predictable easily?  Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have recently developed an algorithm that can combine blood test results with memory test data to predict the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in the future with a high degree of accuracy.


  
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have recently developed an algorithm that can combine blood test results with memory test data to predict the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in the future with a high degree of accuracy. The results of this research were published in the journal Nature Medicine on May 24.

Even in professional medical institutions, about 20-30% of Alzheimer’s patients have been misdiagnosed. The measurement of tau and β-amyloid from spinal fluid samples, or the use of PET scans, can significantly improve accuracy. However, these methods are relatively expensive and can only be performed in a few specialized memory clinics. With the emergence of new drugs that are expected to delay the progression of the disease, accurate diagnosis of AD at an early stage becomes more and more important.

 

A research team led by Professor Oskar Hansson of Lund University has now shown that a combination of relatively easy-to-implement tests can reliably diagnose Alzheimer’s disease at an early stage. This study examined 340 patients with mild memory impairment in the Swedish BioFINDER study and confirmed the results through a study of 543 people in North America.

The researchers used a simple blood test (determining variants of tau protein and Alzheimer’s disease risk genes) and three short cognitive tests that can be completed in just 10 minutes to predict which patients will be within four years Development of Alzheimer’s disease (AUC = 0.83). Oskar Hansson said that this simple prediction algorithm is much more accurate than the clinical predictions of dementia experts, and does not require expensive spinal fluid testing or PET scans.

“Our algorithm is based on blood analysis of phosphorylated tau protein and risk genes, plus memory and executive function tests. We have now developed an online prototype tool that can be used to estimate the presence of a person with mild memory impairment. The risk of Alzheimer’s disease in the next four years,” said lead author Sebastian Palmqvist.

An obvious advantage of this algorithm is that it has been developed for clinical use without the need for advanced diagnostic equipment. Therefore, it is expected to have a significant impact on the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in primary healthcare in the future.

Palmqvist said: “This algorithm is currently only tested on patients who have been examined by memory clinics. We hope it can also be validated in primary healthcare and developing countries with limited resources.”

Simple diagnostic tools for Alzheimer’s disease can also promote the development of drugs, because it is currently difficult to recruit suitable research participants for drug trials in a cost-effective manner.

Professor Oskar Hansson concluded: “This algorithm will enable us to recruit Alzheimer’s patients at an early stage, which means that new drugs have a better chance of delaying disease progression.”

 

 

(source:internet, reference only)


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