New research suggests that Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia, can be detected early on with a blood test.
The team composed of researchers at Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB) in Germany, the University of Göttingen, and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Göttingen set out to create and test the effectiveness of an early diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease. Current technologies can only detect Alzheimer's once symptoms manifest, which is not ideal since the disease would have already taken over the entire brain. In order to improve treatments for Alzheimer's or potentially delay its onset, the disease must be diagnosed earlier.
"If we wish to have a drug at our disposal that can significantly inhibit the progress of the disease, we need blood tests that detect Alzheimer's in its pre-dementia stages," said lead investigator, Professor Klaus Gerwert, who is the Head of the Department of Biophysics at RUB.
"By applying such drugs at an early stage, we could prevent dementia, or at the very least delay its onset," Professor Jens Wiltfang, Head of the Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Göttingen and Clinical Research Coordinator at DZNE Göttingen, added.
Gertwert and colleagues worked together to create an infrared sensor that would be able to detect any signs of misfolding in Amyloid beta peptides, which are considered to be biomarkers for Alzheimer's. The sensor works by extracting all existing Amyloid beta peptides from bodily fluids, such as blood, which then allows the researchers to conduct a more detailed analysis.
"We do not merely select one single possible folding arrangement of the peptide; rather, we detect how all existing Amyloid beta secondary structures are distributed, in their healthy and in their pathological forms," Gertwert explained.
The analysis of secondary structures can lead to a more precise diagnosis, the researchers said. To test their sensor, the researchers collected blood samples from 141 patients and found that the sensor had an efficacy rate of 84 percent. When the team used the sensor on cerebrospinal fluid, the rate increased to 90 percent.
"The sooner Alzheimer's is detected, the better the therapy chances. This sensor is an important milestone in the right direction," Wiltfang said.
The researchers are currently testing the sensor in a sample of 800 participants.
The study was published in the Journal of Biophotonics.
