University of Pittsburgh scientists independently validated a new blood test platform that can simultaneously measure more than a hundred biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. The platform might improve clinicians' ability to capture the multifaceted nature of Alzheimer's pathology and streamline early disease diagnostics. The report was published in Molecular Neurodegeneration today.
Alzheimer's disease should not be looked at through one single lens. Capturing aspects of Alzheimer's pathology in a panel of clinically validated biomarkers would increase the likelihood of stopping the disease before any cognitive symptoms emerge." Thomas Karikari, Ph.
D., M.Sc.
, s enior author, assistant professor of psychiatry at Pitt Early detection of pathological changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, including signs of neuroinflammation and dysfunction in brain blood vessel function and nerve cell communication, is key to improving effectiveness of newly developed infusion treatments and to stopping or slowing down disease progression. Capturing a detailed snapshot of molecular changes in the brains of individuals at risk of Alzheimer's disease who are not yet experiencing any cognitive or memory changes would allow scientists to track disease progression over time and, eventually, develop guidelines for early intervention. However, the current system for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease is imperfect – it is resource-intensive and time-consuming for both physicians and lab technicians .
