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A new blood test can predict the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms within three to four years
Instead of testing for beta-amyloid — which requires PET scans — researchers can measure a protein in the plasma, called p-tau217, according to findings published in the journal Nature
The test has “the potential to predict symptom onset accurately enough that we could use it in individual clinical care”
A new blood test can predict when symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease may start — helping those affected begin preventative treatment more quickly.
Researchers found that a single blood test measuring p-tau217 — a protein in the plasma — can help them gauge when a patient will start to show symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
While protein called beta-amyloid is believed to be a cause of the progressive dementia that characterizes Alzheimer’s disease, tau increases in the body at the same time.
Researchers found that by measuring tau, they can create “clock models” to “track disease progression with a specific biomarker, thereby providing granular and intuitive time-based staging,“ according to findings published in the journal Nature.
Stock image of vials of blood.
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“Amyloid and tau levels are similar to tree rings — if we know how many rings a tree has, we know how many years old it is,” lead author Kellen K. Petersen, PhD, a neurology instructor at WashU Medicine, said in a press release from the university. “It turns out that amyloid and tau also accumulate in a consistent pattern and the age they become positive strongly predicts when someone is going to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms. We found this is also true of plasma p-tau217, which reflects both amyloid and tau levels.”
Their “clock models” were able to predict the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms within three to four years. While beta-amyloids require pet scans, “our work shows the feasibility of using blood tests, which are substantially cheaper and more accessible than brain imaging scans or spinal fluid tests, for predicting the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms,” senior author Suzanne E. Schindler, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the WashU Medicine Department of Neurology, said in the release.
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They found that when the protein was detected earlier, the symptoms took longer to show up: Someone age 60 with elevated p-tau217 in their plasma didn’t develop symptoms until they were 80. But an 80-year-old with elevated p-tau217 developed symptoms 11 years later.
Researchers say they hope this can lead to advancements in treatment. As Petersen said in the release, “With further refinement, these methodologies have the potential to predict symptom onset accurately enough that we could use it in individual clinical care.”
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