Blood-based markers could lead to earlier detection of Alzheimer's disease

NewsGuard 100/100 Score

Alzheimer's disease begins decades before any symptoms, such as memory loss, start to show. Consequently, early diagnosis increases the chances of slowing the disease down with drugs. A new study on an inherited form of the disease shows that a protein called GFAP is a possible biomarker for very early stages of the disease. The study, conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in the journal Brain, could one day lead to an earlier detection of this serious and common disease.

Our results suggest that GFAP, a presumed biomarker for activated immune cells in the brain, reflects changes in the brain due to Alzheimer's disease that occur before the accumulation of tau protein and measurable neuronal damage. In the future it could be used as a non-invasive biomarker for the early activation of immune cells such as astrocytes in the central nervous system, which can be valuable to the development of new drugs and to the diagnostics of cognitive diseases."

Charlotte Johansson, study's first author, doctoral student at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Alzheimer's disease causes 60 to 70 percent of all dementia cases, according to the Swedish Brain Foundation. In Alzheimer's disease, nerve cells in the brain degenerate as a result of the abnormal accumulation of the proteins beta-amyloid and tau. As more brain neurons become damaged, this manifests in dysfunction of cognitive functions such as memory and speech.

Blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease

The disease progresses insidiously and biological changes in the brain begin already 20 to 25 years before memory loss and other cognitive symptoms become evident. The earlier a patient is correctly diagnosed, the sooner he or she can be offered the right treatment. This is one of many reasons why more research is needed on precise, easy-to-use methods of early diagnosis.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and their colleagues at Landspitali University Hospital in Iceland, Gothenburg University and University College London in the UK have been studying biomarkers in blood for very early pathological changes in a rare and inherited form of Alzheimer's disease that accounts for less than one percent of all cases. Individuals with a parent with Alzheimer's disease caused by a mutation have a 50 percent risk of developing the disease themselves.

The first change - an increase in GFAP

For their study, the researchers analyzed 164 blood plasma samples from 33 mutation carriers and 42 relatives without the inherited pathogenic predisposition. The data were collected between 1994 and 2018.
Their results reveal clear changes of several blood protein concentrations in the mutation-carriers.

"The first change we observed was an increase in GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) approximately ten years before the first disease symptoms," says the study's last author Caroline Graff, professor at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet. "This was followed by increased concentrations of P-tau181 and, later, NfL (neurofilament light protein), which we already know is directly associated with the extent of neuronal damage in the Alzheimer's brain. This finding about GFAP improves the chances of early diagnosis."

The study was financed by grants from several bodies, including the Swedish Brain Foundation, the Swedish Alzheimer's Foundation and with ALF project grants (see the study for a full list). Authors Kaj Blennow and Henrik Zetterberg are involved in several collaborations with private pharmaceutical companies.

Source:
Journal reference:

Johansson, C., et al. (2023) Plasma biomarker profiles in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease. Brain. doi.org/10.1093/brain/awac399.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Study reveals breakthrough in non-invasive detection of endometrial cancer