Blood protein 'early clue to Alzheimer's'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Scientists have identified a protein that could be an early indicator for Alzheimer's disease, it emerged today.
Researchers found that higher concentrations of clusterin, a protein in the blood plasma, appear to be associated with the development, severity and progression of the condition.
It is hoped the breakthrough could lead to the development of a simple blood test for detecting Alzheimer's, one of the most common forms of dementia in the UK.
The King's College, London-based team studied clusterin levels in 689 people - including 464 with the illness - - and found a link between higher levels of the protein and severity of disease in the brain area known as the entorhinal cortex, which plays a role in memory.
Increased clusterin in the blood was also associated with having more of the amyloid-beta protein - which form some of the brain abnormalities behind Alzheimer's.
The report authors said: "Although these findings do not support the clinical utility of plasma clusterin concentration as a stand-alone biomarker for Alzheimer's disease, they reveal a robust peripheral signature of this....protein that is responsive to key features of disease pathology."
They added: "Our findings clearly implicate clusterin, but there may well be other proteins in plasma related to the disease process, and indeed our previous studies and those of others suggest this is the case.
"These results may have wider implications for the identification of other...proteins in plasma, both as putative Alzheimer's disease biomarkers as well as drug targets of disease-modifying treatments."
Alzheimer's disease affects an estimated 500,000 people in Britain.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments