Simple blood test capable of identifying if you will rapidly develop severe Alzheimer's
A simple blood test can tell which patients will rapidly develop severe Alzheimer's, a study reveals today.
Identifying those with mild cognitive impairment who are most likely to suffer an accelerated decline could allow them to enter clinical trials and receive extra support, researchers say.
Neurologists tested 315 non-diabetic patients with cognitive deficits, including 200 with Alzheimer's disease, for resistance to insulin – a hormone that regulates blood-sugar levels.
This was assessed using the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index.
Among those with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's, individuals with the highest TyG scores declined four times faster over the three-year follow-up period than those with lower TyG levels.
Researchers suggest that insulin resistance, which has already been linked to the onset of Alzheimer's, may accelerate progression by impairing the uptake of glucose in the brain, promotinginflammation and disrupting the blood-brain barrier.
It may also contribute to the build-up of amyloid, a toxic protein, in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
The scientists at the University of Brescia, Italy, also found that high TyG was associated with blood-brain barrier disruption and cardiovascular risk factors.
But they found no link between high TyG and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Their study will be presented today at the European Academy of Neurology Congressin Helsinki.
Lead researcher Dr Bianca Gumina said: 'Once mild cognitive impairment is diagnosed, families always ask how fast it will progress.
'Our data shows that a simple metabolic marker available in every hospital laboratorycan help identify more vulnerable subjects who may besuitable candidates for targeted therapy or specificintervention strategies.'
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