We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Blood Test Predicts Onset of Alzheimer's Disease

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 22 Jul 2014
Image: The Luminex 200 System for Multiplex Testing (Photo courtesy of the University of Utah).
Image: The Luminex 200 System for Multiplex Testing (Photo courtesy of the University of Utah).
A combination of 10 proteins could predict whether individuals would progress from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease (AD) within a year has been discovered.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) which includes problems with day-to-day memory, attention and language can be an early sign of dementia, but it can also be a symptom of stress or anxiety. About 10% of people with MCI go on to develop dementia within a year, however, apart from regular memory tests, there is currently no reliable way to predict who will and will not be among them.

Scientists at King's College London (UK) working with Proteome Sciences plc (Cobham, UK) analyzed blood samples from 1,148 subjects: 476 with AD, 220 with MCI, and 452 elderly controls with no dementia. The team analyzed 26 proteins in the blood samples and found that 16 linked strongly to brain shrinkage in the MCI and Alzheimer's groups. All candidate proteins were measured using xMAP multiplex bead assays incorporated in 7 MILLIPLEX MAP panels run on the Luminex 200 instrument (Luminex; Austin, TX, USA).

In a secondary analysis they discovered that a combination of 10 proteins could predict whether individuals would progress from MCI to Alzheimer's disease within a year with an accuracy of 87%. They found that the proteins transthyretin (TTR), clusterin, cystatin C, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (A1AcidG), Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM1), cytochrome c4 precursor (CC4), pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), alpha 1-antitrypsin (A1AT), Chemokine ligand 5 (RANTES), and Apolipoprotein C-III (ApoC3) plus the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, had the greatest predictive power.

Abdul Hye, PhD, the lead author of the study said, “The study marks the end of many years' work to find which of the thousands of proteins in the blood were clinically relevant. We now have a set of 10 proteins that can predict whether someone with early symptoms of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment will develop Alzheimer's disease within a year, with a high level of accuracy.” The study was published on July 10, 2014, in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia.

Related Links:

King's College London
Proteome Sciences plc
Luminex




Platinum Member
Automated Coagulation Analyzer
Hemolumi H6
Gold Member
H-FABP Assay
Heart-Type Fatty Acid-Binding Protein Assay
All-in-One Molecular System
AIO M160
Automated Urinalysis Solution
UN-9000

Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: QIAsymphony Connect delivers highly concentrated DNA and RNA for sensitive downstream assays, supporting reliable detection in liquid biopsy, oncology, and infectious disease diagnostics (Photo courtesy of Qiagen)

New Automation Platform Standardizes DNA and RNA Extraction Across Clinical Workflows

QIAGEN has introduced QIAsymphony Connect, an in vitro diagnostic (IVD)-compliant platform for automated clinical nucleic acid extraction. The system builds on more than 3,300 cumulative placements of... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The “broth” used to monitor red blood cell depletion in whole blood spiked with one colony-forming-unit of E. coli bacteria, each incubated at different orbital shaking speeds—left to right: 0 RPM, 65 RPM, 120 RPM and 200 RPM—after four hours of incubation. This culturing raises a bacteria-rich, plasma-like layer of bacteria to the top of the vials, while clusters of stuck blood cells known as a Rouleaux formation sink to the bottom. (Image Credit: Pak Kin Wong)

New Diagnostic Workflow Identifies Bloodstream Pathogens and Antibiotic Response in Hours

Sepsis is a life-threatening complication of infection that affects more than 1.5 million patients annually in the United States and contributes to roughly one in three in-hospital deaths.... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: Researchers evaluated AI models that quantify tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) on routine breast tissue slides, where higher TIL levels reflect stronger antitumor response and improved breast cancer outcomes (Image Credit: Shutterstock)

AI Matches Pathologists in Predicting Breast Cancer Prognosis from Immune Cells

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Australian women, with more than 20,000 cases each year. Prognosis can be informed by counting tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) on routine pathology slides,... Read more