A new blood test can detect ‘toxic’ proteins years before Alzheimer’s symptoms appear, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNA).

Led by university of washington (United States), the work confirms that the test – still being tested – could help identify individuals at risk or who are starting to develop the disease, and open the door to the development of early treatments for Alzheimer’s.

Today, patients are generally diagnosed only after presenting with well-known signs of the disease, such as memory loss describes a statement from the aforementioned university, which recalls that at that time the best treatment options were limited to slowing the progression of symptoms.

But research has proven it the “seeds” of Alzheimer’s “planted” years earlier – even decades – long before the appearance of the cognitive disorders that make diagnosis possible today.

These seeds are beta-amyloid protein They fold poorly and clump together to form small aggregates called oligomers. Over time, through a process that scientists are still trying to understand, these “toxic” amyloid-beta oligomers are thought to turn into Alzheimer’s.

In the article published the day before yesterday, he describes the team from the University of Washington a laboratory test which can measure the levels of amyloid-beta oligomers in blood samples.

The researchers tested the test, known by the acronym SOBA– in blood samples from 310 subjects who had previously provided them, as well as parts of their medical records for Alzheimer’s research.

At the time of sampling, subjects were recorded as no signs of cognitive impairmentmild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia.

SOBA detected oligomers in the blood of individuals with mild cognitive impairment and moderate to severe Alzheimer’s. In 53 cases, the diagnosis of the subjects was subsequently verified of death by autopsy and blood samples of 52 of them, taken years before their deaths, contained toxic oligomers.

SOBA also detected oligomers in control group members who, according to the registries, subsequently developed mild cognitive impairment.

“What doctors and researchers wanted was a reliable diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s, and not just one that would confirm the diagnosis, but one that could also detect signs of the disease before cognitive decline sets in,” says lead author . Valerie Daggett. “What we show here is that SOBA can be the basis of such a test,” he added.

And how does the test work? When misfolded amyloid-beta proteins begin to assemble into oligomers, they form a structure known as an alpha sheet; these sheets tend to stick to each other to other alpha sheets.

The core of SOBA is a synthetic alpha sheet that can bind to oligomers in cerebrospinal fluid or blood samples. The assay then uses standard methods to confirm that the oligomers attached to the surface of the assay are made up of amyloid-beta protein.

The new platform is designed to selectively bind toxic oligomers,” that is like finding a needle in a haystack”, according to Daggett.

The team is now working with scientists from AltPep, a biotechnology company derived from the University of Washington, to convert SOBA into a diagnostic test for oligomers.

The study also demonstrated this SOBA could easily be modified to detect toxic oligomers of other types of proteins associated with Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. EFE extension