Finger-Prick Test Brings Alzheimer’s Detection Closer to Everyone

 With this your competent? doctor can implement the EXACT DEMENTIA PROTOCOLS as soon as this diagnosis comes in. At least if you have a competent doctor! Do you have one? NO? RUN AWAY!

 With your chances of getting dementia post stroke, you need prevention solutions. YOUR DOCTOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PREVENTING THIS!

1. A documented 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study?   May 2012.

2. Then this study came out and seems to have a range from 17-66%. December 2013.`    

3. A 20% chance in this research.   July 2013.

4. Dementia Risk Doubled in Patients Following Stroke September 2018 

The latest here:

Finger-Prick Test Brings Alzheimer’s Detection Closer to Everyone

Summary: A new Alzheimer’s test collects just a few drops of blood from a finger prick, which can be mailed to a lab for analysis. The test measures biomarkers like pTau217 and has shown similar accuracy to traditional venous blood sampling.

Unlike conventional methods, this approach doesn’t require cold-chain transportation, making it highly accessible for regions with limited infrastructure. With early detection critical for treatments like lecanemab, this test could revolutionize Alzheimer’s diagnosis and research accessibility worldwide.

Key Facts:

• The finger-prick test for Alzheimer’s biomarkers is nearly as accurate as venous sampling.
• Blood samples are mailed to labs without requiring specialized transportation.
• Early detection is key for effective treatments and expanding global research.

Source: University of Gothenburgh

A quick finger prick and a few drops of blood on a card that can be sent in regular mail. This approach could soon make Alzheimer’s testing much more accessible worldwide. A European study led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, is paving the way for this method.

The biomarkers measured in this test have been developed over a long period and have shown strong performance – initially in cerebrospinal fluid, then in venous blood samples, and now in blood from superficial vessels in the finger.

The test could potentially be implemented within a few years. Credit: Neuroscience News

The new test involves collecting one or two drops of blood from a finger prick onto a special card, which immediately separates blood cells from the plasma. After approximately 15 minutes, once the card has dried, it is sent by regular mail to a laboratory, where modern high-sensitivity techniques are used to analyze it.

As effective as venous blood sampling

The current study includes capillary blood samples from 203 people who underwent the finger prick test at one of five memory clinics in Europe. The simple test kit was then mailed to the neurochemistry department at the University of Gothenburg, where established biomarkers for Alzheimer’s, such as pTau217, were analyzed.

The results were presented at the CTAD (Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease) conference in Madrid, Spain, on October 30, 2024, by Hanna Huber, a researcher at the University of Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Academy:

“The simple capillary blood test works almost as well as venous samples, but unlike traditional blood tests, this new test does not require transport on dry ice. This could significantly increase accessibility to Alzheimer’s testing in countries and regions lacking the infrastructure needed for high-sensitivity analyses,” says Hanna Huber.

The test could potentially be implemented within a few years. A new European study is already underway to examine whether the test can be self-administered, allowing individuals to prick their own finger and mail the sample to a lab without the need for healthcare personnel.

Early detection

The test comes at a fitting time alongside the development of Alzheimer’s treatments, with the drug lecanemab already approved in numerous countries outside the EU. These treatments require early disease detection to be effective.

The test opens up possibilities for new research breakthroughs on Alzheimer’s disease, including its genetic profile and its prevalence across global populations. However, researchers emphasize that the test is not intended for general screening of the population.

The World Health Organization (WHO) currently advises against general screening for Alzheimer’s disease, as treatment options have historically been limited, making such screening ethically unsubstantiated.

The study utilizes the blood collection cards Capitainer®SEP10 and Telimmune.

About this Alzheimer’s disease research news

Author: Margareta Gustafsson Kubista
Source: University of Gothenburg
Contact: Margareta Gustafsson Kubista – University of Gothenburg
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: The findings were presented at CTAD (Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease)

Silent brain changes precede Alzheimer's. Researchers have new clues about which come first

Well isn't your competent? doctor already testing you for Alzheimer's biomarkers?

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Two Memory Tests Accurately Predict Brain Atrophy, Alzheimer’s Disease  3 years in advance December 2018 

A Deep Learning Model to Predict a Diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease by Using 18F-FDG PET of the Brain 75.8 months prior to the final diagnosis November 2018

 

Your risk of dementia, has your doctor told you of this?  Your doctor is responsible for preventing this!

1. A documented 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study?   May 2012.

2. Then this study came out and seems to have a range from 17-66%. December 2013.`    

3. A 20% chance in this research.   July 2013.

4. Dementia Risk Doubled in Patients Following Stroke September 2018 

The latest here:

 

Silent brain changes precede Alzheimer's. Researchers have new clues about which come first

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alzheimer’s quietly ravages the brain long before symptoms appear and now scientists have new clues about the dominolike sequence of those changes — a potential window to one day intervene.

A large study in China tracked middle-aged and older adults for 20 years, using regular brain scans, spinal taps and other tests.

Compared to those who remained cognitively healthy, people who eventually developed the mind-robbing disease had higher levels of an Alzheimer's-linked protein in their spinal fluid 18 years prior to diagnosis, researchers reported Wednesday. Then every few years afterward, the study detected another so-called biomarker of brewing trouble.

Scientists don’t know exactly how Alzheimer’s forms. One early hallmark is that sticky protein called beta-amyloid, which over time builds up into brain-clogging plaques. Amyloid alone isn’t enough to damage memory — plenty of healthy people’s brains harbor a lot of plaque. An abnormal tau protein that forms neuron-killing tangles is one of several co-conspirators.

The new research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, offers a timeline for how those abnormalities pile up.

The study’s importance “cannot be overstated,” said Dr. Richard Mayeux, an Alzheimer’s specialist at Columbia University who wasn’t involved in the research.

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“Knowledge of the timing of these physiological events is critical” for testing new ways of treating and maybe eventually even preventing Alzheimer’s, he wrote in an accompanying editorial.

The findings have no practical implications yet.

More than 6 million Americans, and millions more worldwide, have Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. There’s no cure. But last year a drug named Leqembi became the first approved with clear evidence that it could slow the worsening of early Alzheimer’s — albeit for a few months.

It works by clearing away some of that gunky amyloid protein. The approach also is being tested to see if it's possible to delay Alzheimer's onset if high-risk people are treated before symptoms appear. Still other drugs are being developed to target tau.

Tracking silent brain changes is key for such research. Scientists already knew that in rare, inherited forms of Alzheimer’s that strike younger people, a toxic form of amyloid starts accumulating about two decades ahead of symptoms and at some point later tau kicks in.

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The new findings show the order in which such biomarker changes occurred with more common old-age Alzheimer’s.

Researchers with Beijing’s Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders compared 648 people eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and an equal number who remained healthy. The amyloid finding in future Alzheimer's patients was the first, 18 years or 14 years prior to diagnosis depending on the test used.

Differences in tau were detected next, followed by a marker of trouble in how neurons communicate. A few years after that, differences in brain shrinkage and cognitive test scores between the two groups became apparent, the study found.

“The more we know about viable Alzheimer’s treatment targets and when to address them, the better and faster we will be able to develop new therapies and preventions,” said Claire Sexton, the Alzheimer's Association's senior director of scientific programs. She noted that blood tests are coming soon that promise to also help by making it easier to track amyloid and tau.

AI Predicts Alzheimer’s 7 Years Early

Why wouldn't your doctor do this 20 year one? That should give enough time to use protocols to prevent it from happening.

Simple test could help predict risk of Alzheimer’s disease 20 years in advance September 2023

Do you prefer your  doctor and hospital incompetence NOT KNOWING? OR NOT DOING?

The latest here:

AI Predicts Alzheimer’s 7 Years Early

Summary: Researchers have developed an AI method that can predict Alzheimer’s Disease up to seven years before the onset of symptoms, utilizing machine learning to analyze patient records.

Their study highlights high cholesterol and osteoporosis—particularly in women—as key predictors, showcasing AI’s potential to unveil complex disease patterns and biological drivers. By integrating clinical data with genetic databases through tools like UCSF’s SPOKE, the team has identified genes linked to Alzheimer’s, offering new avenues for early diagnosis and understanding the interplay between different health conditions and Alzheimer’s risk.

This approach promises to enhance precision medicine for Alzheimer’s and other challenging diseases.

Key Facts:

1. Early Prediction through AI: Machine learning applied to clinical data can predict Alzheimer’s onset with 72% accuracy up to seven years in advance.
2. Significant Predictors Identified: High cholesterol and osteoporosis are significant predictors of Alzheimer’s, with osteoporosis being a notable factor for women.
3. Genetic Insights Unveiled: Using UCSF’s SPOKE, researchers connected Alzheimer’s risk to specific genes, including a link between osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s in women through the MS4A6A gene.

Source: UCSF

UC San Francisco scientists have found a way to predict Alzheimer’s Disease up to seven years before symptoms appear by analyzing patient records with machine learning. 

The conditions that most influenced prediction of Alzheimer’s were high cholesterol and, for women, the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis. 

The work demonstrates the promise of using artificial intelligence (AI) to spot patterns in clinical data that can then be used to scour large genetic databases to determine what is driving that risk. The researchers hope that one day it will hasten the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s and other complex diseases.

Ultimately, the researchers hope the approach can be used with other hard-to-diagnose diseases like lupus and endometriosis. Credit: Neuroscience News

“This is a first step towards using AI on routine clinical data, not only to identify risk as early as possible, but also to understand the biology behind it,” said the study’s lead author, Alice Tang, an MD/PhD student in the Sirota Lab at UCSF.

“The power of this AI approach comes from identifying risk based on combinations of diseases.”

The findings appear Feb. 21, 2024, in Nature Aging. 

Clinical data and the power of prediction 

Scientists have long sought to discover the biological drivers and early predictors of Alzheimer’s Disease, a progressive and ultimately fatal form of dementia that destroys memory. Alzheimer’s affects some 6.7 million Americans, nearly two-thirds of whom are women. The risk of getting the disease increases with age, and women tend to live longer than men, but that does not fully explain why more women than men have it. 

The researchers used UCSF’s clinical database of more than 5 million patients to look for co-occurring conditions in patients who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at UCSF’s Memory and Aging Center in comparison to individuals without AD and found they could identify with 72% predictive power who would develop the disease up to seven years prior. 

Several factors, including hypertension, high cholesterol and vitamin D deficiency, were predictive in both men and women. Erectile dysfunction and an enlarged prostate were also predictive for men. But for women, osteoporosis was a particularly important predictor. 

This does not mean that everyone with the bone disease, which is common among older women, will get Alzheimer’s. 

“It is the combination of diseases that allows our model to predict AD onset,” said Tang, “Our finding that osteoporosis is one predictive factor for females highlights the biological interplay between bone health and dementia risk.”

A precision medicine approach 

To understand the biology underlying the model’s predictive power, the researchers turned to public molecular databases and a specialized tool developed at UCSF called SPOKE (Scalable Precision Medicine Oriented Knowledge Engine), which was developed in the lab of Sergio Baranzini, PhD, a professor of neurology and a member of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. 

SPOKE is essentially a database of databases that researchers can use to identify patterns and potential molecular targets for therapy. It picked up the well-known association between Alzheimer’s and high cholesterol, through a variant form of the apolipoprotein E gene, APOE4. But, when combined with genetic databases, it also identified a link between osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s in women, through a variant in a lesser-known gene, called MS4A6A. 
 
Ultimately, the researchers hope the approach can be used with other hard-to-diagnose diseases like lupus and endometriosis.

“This is a great example of how we can leverage patient data with machine learning to predict which patients are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, and also to understand the reasons why that is so,” said the study’s senior author, Marina Sirota, PhD, associate professor at the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute at UCSF. 

Authors: Additional UCSF co-authors include Katherine P. Rankin, PhD, Gabriel Cerono, MD, Silvia Miramontes, MIDS, Hunter Mills, MS, Jacquelyn Roger, PhD student, Billy Zeng, MD, Charlotte Nelson, PhD, Karthik Soman, PhD, Sarah Woldemariam, Yaqio Li, PhD, Albert Lee, MADS, Riley Bove, MD, Tomiko Oskotsky, MD, Zachary Miller, MD, Isabel Allen, PhD, Stephan J. Sanders, PhD, and Sergio Baranzini, PhD. 

Funding: The National Institute on Aging provided the primary support for this study (grant R01AG060393). Additional support was provided by the Medical Scientist Training Program (T32GM007618) and F30 Fellowship (1F30AG079504-01). 

About this AI and Alzheimer’s disease research news

Author: Victoria Colliver
Source: UCSF
Contact: Victoria Colliver – UCSF
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access.
“Leveraging electronic health records and knowledge networks for Alzheimer’s disease prediction and sex-specific biological insights” by Alice Tang et al. Nature Aging

Alzheimer's Blood Test Shows High Diagnostic Accuracy

 With your extra chance of dementia post stroke you'll want your competent? doctor and hospital to use this, so if found they can immediately prescribe the EXACT PROTOCOLS that will prevent that dementia.  At least if they were competent they would have those protocols. Are they competent?

Your chances of getting dementia.

1. A documented 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study?   May 2012.

2. Then this study came out and seems to have a range from 17-66%. December 2013.`    

3. A 20% chance in this research.   July 2013.

4. Dementia Risk Doubled in Patients Following Stroke September 2018

The latest here:

Alzheimer's Blood Test Shows High Diagnostic Accuracy

Commercial ptau-217 assay reduced confirmatory testing by about 80%

by Judy George, Deputy Managing Editor, MedPage Today January 22, 2024

A commercially available plasma assay that measured phosphorylated tau at threonine 217 (p-tau217) accurately identified biological Alzheimer's disease, data from three cohorts showed.

Across all cohorts, the p-tau217 assay identified elevated amyloid-beta with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.92-0.96 (95% CI 0.89-0.99), reported Nicholas Ashton, PhD, of Gothenburg University in Sweden, and co-authors in JAMA Neurologyopens in a new tab or window.

The amyloid findings were comparable with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, the researchers said. The immunoassay also detected elevated tau pathology with an AUC of 0.93-0.97 (95% CI 0.84-0.99) across the cohorts.

"Notably, the assay demonstrated high accuracy in identifying tau pathology within amyloid-beta-positive individuals," Ashton and colleagues wrote. "This is particularly important as anti-amyloid therapies may be less effective in patients with advanced tau pathology."

Phosphorylated tau is a leading Alzheimer's blood biomarker candidate, showing better diagnostic accuracy and disease specificity than amyloid-beta tests or assessments of neurofilament light (NfL). High-performing p-tau tests have shown a substantial increase in Alzheimer's patients occurring concurrently with amyloid plaques. Several p-tau candidates have been tested and p-tau217opens in a new tab or window has shown good utility.

"With the imminent implementation of anti-amyloid-beta therapies in dementia management, validated blood biomarkers are urgently needed to guide timely treatment decisions," Ashton and co-authors noted. "While plasma p-tau217 has shown promise as a diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease, its widespread evaluation has been hindered by limited availability of commercial assays."

The researchers assessed a commercial p-tau217 test (ALZpath pTau217) developed on the single molecule array (Simoa) platform in blood. They evaluated its performance in three cohorts: the cross-sectional and longitudinal Translational Biomarkers in Aging and Dementia (TRIAD)opens in a new tab or window cohort (October 2017-August 2021) and Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP)opens in a new tab or window cohort (February 2007-November 2020), and the cross-sectional Sant Pau Initiative on Neurodegeneration (SPIN)opens in a new tab or window cohort (baseline visits March 2009-November 2021).

The study included 786 people with and without cognitive impairment. Mean age was about 66 years and 64.1% were women. About a third of the study population was classified as cognitively impaired.

In all cohorts, plasma p-tau217 alone, or p-tau217 plus demographic variables such as age, sex, and APOE status, outperformed all other blood-based biomarkers -- including p-tau181, p-tau231, amyloid-beta 42/40, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and NfL -- in predicting amyloid and tau status. Longitudinally, plasma p-tau217 values showed an annual increase only in amyloid-beta-positive individuals, with the highest increase observed in people with tau positivity.

A three-range approach recommended by Alzheimer's Association guidelines,opens in a new tab or window which suggested confirmatory testing for patients with uncertain blood test results, showed that about 12% to 23% of participants needed advanced testing, depending on their clinical stage.

"The detection of abnormal amyloid-beta pathology using a three-range reference yielded reproducible results and reduced confirmatory testing by approximately 80%," Ashton and co-authors observed.

The cohorts used in the study may not fully represent real-world settings, the researchers noted. "Importantly, the reported negative and positive predictive accuracy of these reference ranges can vary based on the prevalence of the outcome in the target population," they wrote.

This research demonstrates that a commercially available p-tau217 blood test can accurately identify individuals with amyloid and tau pathology and that cutoffs perform relatively consistently across cohorts, noted Suzanne Schindler, MD, PhD, of Washington University in St. Louis, who wasn't involved with the study.

"Additional studies are needed to validate this test in typical clinical cohorts, and to determine whether this assay performs accurately when samples are sent in many batches," Schindler told MedPage Today.

"Further, other studies have shown that p-tau217 levels can be affected by certain medical conditions, and guidance must be formulated on how to use these tests in patients with medical comorbidities," she added. "Notably, the ratio of phosphorylated to non-phosphorylated p-tau217 may be less affected by medical comorbiditiesopens in a new tab or window."

The ALZpath plasma p-tau217 assay is used globally and will available in the U.S. later this month as a laboratory-developed test (LDT) known as ALZpath Dx under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIAopens in a new tab or window) program. ALZpath plans to submit the assay to the FDA as an in vitro diagnostic in 2025 or 2026, according to a company spokesperson.

• Judy George covers neurology and neuroscience news for MedPage Today, writing about brain aging, Alzheimer’s, dementia, MS, rare diseases, epilepsy, autism, headache, stroke, Parkinson’s, ALS, concussion, CTE, sleep, pain, and more. Follow

Disclosures

ALZpath provided the materials for this study at no cost.

The study was supported by NIH, Department de Salut de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Pla Estratègic de Recerca I Innovació en Salut, and the Horizon 2020-Research and Innovation Framework Programme from the European Union.

Ashton reported no disclosures. Co-authors reported relationships with ALZpath and other entities.

Schindler has served on scientific advisory boards for Eisai. She reported relationships with the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation, the National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, the Greater Missouri Alzheimer's Association, and several universities.

Primary Source

JAMA Neurology

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowAshton NJ, et al "Diagnostic accuracy of a plasma phosphorylated tau 217 immunoassay for Alzheimer disease pathology" JAMA Neurol 2024; DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.5319.

MemTrax continuous recognition test shows promise in early detection of Alzheimer's disease

With your risk of dementia post stroke, how is your doctor objectively determining if you have it? NOTHING LIKE USUAL?  Then you don't have a functioning stroke doctor.

RUN AWAY!

Your risk of dementia, has your doctor told you of this?  Your doctor is responsible for preventing this!

1. A documented 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study?   May 2012.

2. Then this study came out and seems to have a range from 17-66%. December 2013.`    

3. A 20% chance in this research.   July 2013.

4. Dementia Risk Doubled in Patients Following Stroke September 2018 

The latest here:

 

MemTrax continuous recognition test shows promise in early detection of Alzheimer's disease

A new editorial paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 12, entitled, "Advancing screening for cognitive impairment: the memtrax continuous recognition test."

Extensive efforts to find a treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD) span over 40 years, with the often-repeated request for better means to assess the principal dysfunction of this disease, memory impairment. Tremendous costs and resources have already been consumed in the development of treatments for this prevalent and well-recognized condition, e.g., over $40 billion. These pervasive failures support the urgent need for instruments far superior to those used even in recent studies.

The critical impairment in AD is a disorder of neuroplasticity. Thus, cognitive tests which can rapidly, sensitively, frequently, inexpensively, and precisely measure the aspects of memory specifically attacked by AD are principally needed. In this new editorial, researchers J. Wesson Ashford, James O. Clifford and Michael F. Bergeron from Stanford University discuss a continuous recognition test of memory called MemTrax that has been developed to quickly and accurately quantify memory processing, storage and rate of retrieval.

"The precision of MemTrax would best improve the specification of the severity of cognitive impairment in early phases of Alzheimer's disease, a period of this disease when paper and pencil and historical recollection only provide poor estimates of function ."

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Further, MemTrax can precisely assess the rate of change over time with repeat testing. By assessing performance metrics and rate of recognition response, MemTrax can screen for many varieties of cognitive impairment and thus would be an ideal tool for use in the elderly U.S. population for the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit. With a test such as MemTrax or other effective online testing, populations can be broadly and inexpensively assessed for AD-related cognitive impairment and then brought into clinical studies to determine what environmental, genetic, or interventional remedies can prevent further development of AD and the pace and/or extent of cognitive decline.

"MemTrax is especially well suited for assessment of very early AD, including early mild cognitive impairment, a time when the focus should be on prevention of AD pathology, not removal of AD pathology."

Source:

Aging-US

Journal reference:

Wesson Ashford, J. et al. (2023). Advancing screening for cognitive impairment: the memtrax continuous recognition test. Aging. doi.org/10.18632/aging.204828.