In a study from Zhejiang University and elsewhere, scientists found a way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease with a blood test.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by a decline in cognitive function, memory loss, and in severe cases, language impairment, and ultimately the loss of independent living ability.
According to estimates by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 10 million AD patients in China, which will exceed 30 million by 2050, making it the country with the largest number of AD patients in the world.
However, at present, Chinese residents have low awareness and attention to AD, and there are generally low diagnosis rates (especially early diagnosis) and low treatment rates.
In the study, the team developed a stable and rapid assay method for the quantitative determination of nervous system-derived EVs in plasma using nano-flow cytometry technology and discovered novel peripheral blood central nerve system-derived EVs-related marker NMDAR2A to diagnose AD.
This technology only requires a small amount of blood from the patient and checks the changes of several markers in the blood to assist in the diagnosis of AD.
Specifically, the study used innovative nano-flow detection technology to develop a stable and rapid assay method and discovered a new type of marker that can be used to assist in the diagnosis of AD.
This study found that compared with healthy people, the neurologically derived EVs and Aβ, pTau-related EVs in the peripheral blood of AD patients were significantly reduced.
Compared with the traditional examination methods, the new methods only need to draw a small amount of blood from the subjects and check the changes of several markers in the blood to assist in the diagnosis of AD, which can replace the traditional CSF biomarkers.
Therefore, it can solve the problems of low acceptance of CSF acquisition and high cost of corresponding imaging examinations in clinical work, realize rapid and accurate diagnosis of AD, and further, it can be used for early screening of AD in the elderly.
The new diagnosis and treatment method has a great clinical practice and public health value and provides new research ideas and directions for the early diagnosis of AD.
If you care about Alzheimer’s disease, please read studies about the cause of Alzheimer’s disease in human brain, and this common cancer drug may help reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about antioxidants that may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, and results showing how to sleep to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
The study was conducted by Prof. Zhang Jing et al and published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
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