Prime Highlights:
- New spinal fluid and blood tests have been developed to detect memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
- The tests aim to diagnose patients who will benefit most from early treatment.
Key Fact:
- Detection of amyloid plaque in the traditional way is not always a reliable indicator of mental decline, and therefore there is a stronger need for direct measurement of memory loss.
Key Background:
More recent breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s diagnosis have seen two revolutionary tests become available, measuring directly cognitive effect as opposed to amyloid plaques in isolation. According to Washington University in St. Louis professor of neurology Dr. Randall Bateman, amyloid plaques do not have to result in dementia or loss of memory and as such, measures of actual cognitive impact are what tests should prioritize.
Dr. Bateman’s researchers created a blood test for the biomarker MTBR-tau243, the region of a tau protein that is associated with neuronal damage and loss of memory. More symptomatically and disease-progression-oriented than amyloid-related, the biomarker was first tracked in spinal fluid but with technological advancements now can be quantified via blood tests, a less invasive, less painful test.
This was followed by Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray and his colleagues at Stanford University, who developed a spinal fluid test that consists of over 7,000 proteins. They discovered a protein ratio that is a good predictor of memory capacity that can predict future cognitive decline, particularly in individuals at risk of Alzheimer’s due to their genetics.
Both of the two tests, published in Nature Medicine, offer promising avenues of early detection and tailored treatment protocols, potentially maximizing patient outcomes by targeting those who would most likely benefit from a given intervention.
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