A mechanism has been identified by which the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (senile dementia) can be confirmed using a small amount of blood.
The research team led by Professors Lim Hyeon-guk and Wang Seong-min of Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital demonstrated the correlation between the degree of oligomerization of the beta-amyloid protein in the blood and Alzheimer’s disease.
The amyloid beta protein oligomerization test is a test that selectively measures oligomerized amyloid beta protein, the primary pathological mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease, using a small amount of blood.
This test is widely used for early screening of Alzheimer’s disease, but the relationship between the results and the accumulation and severity of beta-amyloid protein in the brain is unclear, so its application in actual clinical practice is limited.
The research team analyzed the degree of oligomerization of amyloid-beta protein in the blood, brain amyloid-beta protein deposition measured by brain amyloid-beta protein positron emission tomography (PET), and the relationship between the decline in function cognition in 122 patients.
Accordingly, the degree of oligomerization of amyloid beta protein in the blood was higher in patients with mild cognitive impairment than in normal people, but in patients with dementia it was found to decrease to the level of patients with negative mild cognitive impairment. in the brain amyloid beta protein.
Furthermore, a positive correlation was confirmed as the greater the degree of oligomerization of beta-amyloid protein in the blood, the greater the accumulation of beta-amyloid protein in the brain as measured by PET-CT. Furthermore, the degree of oligomerization of beta-amyloid protein in the blood was highly correlated with the decrease in the thickness of the cerebral cortex.
Professor Seongmin Wang (first author) said: “The correct interpretation and clinical use of amyloid beta protein oligomerization results in blood is expected to play a very important role in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.” .
Daeik Kwon, medical journalist>
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