Spinal fluid spots Alzheimer’s: Study
Alzheimer’s disease can be diagnosed with up to 100% accuracy several years before its onset by measuring certain proteins in spinal fluid, a new study has revealed.
A team of Bulgarian researchers, led by Geert De Meyer of Ghent University, found that by using special marker proteins present in the spinal fluids, Alzheimer’s disease can be detected early both in patients with memory problems and in healthy people.
The research team analyzed spinal fluid from 114 adults with normal brain function, 200 who had mild cognitive impairment, and 102 who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
They identified one protein that was associated with Alzheimer’s and another that indicated healthy brain function.
The study, published in Archives of Neurology, indicated that 90 percent of those with Alzheimer’s had the disease pattern in their spinal fluid. The pattern was present in 72 percent of those with mild cognitive impairment and 36 percent of those who were normal.
"The unexpected presence of the Alzheimer’s disease signature in more than one-third of cognitively normal subjects suggests that Alzheimer's disease pathology is active and detectable earlier than has heretofore been envisioned," Reuters quoted De Meyer on Monday.
The study is the latest to shed light on early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease which is a fatal and incurable deterioration of the brain that affects more than 26 million people globally.
Currently, only an autopsy can confirm that a person has Alzheimer’s disease.
Source: presstv.ir
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