New Blood Test Can Identify Toxic Protein Years Before Alzheimer’s Symptoms Appear
Researchers have developed a new laboratory test that can measure levels of a “toxic” protein that is highly correlated with developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) years before any symptoms of cognitive impairment appear. Published on December 5 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the findings could be used to identify people at risk for AD, as well as help develop early treatments for the disease, according to researchers.What clinicians and researchers have wanted is a reliable diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease — and not just one that confirms a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, but a way to detect signs of the disease before cognitive impairment happens, says senior author Valerie Daggett, PhD, a professor of bioengineering in the University of Washington (UW) Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute in Seattle.“This disease…