alzheimers.net

‘The latest blood test to detect Alzheimer’s may be able to predict the disease 10 years before symptoms occur with 100% accuracy. Researchers from the National Institute on Aging are focusing on a protein in the brain called IRS-1 that may signal the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s

As researchers press for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, many are focusing on early detection and prevention. Early detection of Alzheimer’s can not only mitigate symptoms but potentially slow the progression of the disease as well

Since 2015, a group of researchers at Australia’s University of Queensland has been working with ultrasound to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier so antibody treatments can get in and harmful dementia-related proteins can be cleared out. Professor Jürgen Götz heads the Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research at the Queensland Brain Institute and his team has been testing the effects of injecting patients with microbubbles and then using ultrasound on the brain to briefly open the blood-brain barrier. In 2018, scientists in Toronto reported the results of their phase one safety trial to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier and researchers at West Virginia University performed a phase two ultrasound trial on a woman with Alzheimer’s. It’s too soon to know if treatments for people with dementia might come out of this research, but for an intractable problem like this, finding a way to safely open the blood-brain barrier could be the first step toward a solution.

A recent study has found that an ultrasound of the neck may be able to predict a person’s risk of dementia nearly a decade before symptoms occur. A study from the University College London (UCL), recently presented at the American Heart Association’s annual scientific conference, found that an ultrasound of the neck could identify dementia before symptoms occur. The study found that people who had more intense pulses were up to 50% more likely to experience reduced cognitive functions than other participants. Carol Routledge, Director of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, notes, “What we do know is that the blood supply in the brain is incredibly important and that maintaining healthy blood pressure and a healthy heart is associated with a lower risk of developing dementia.