Breakthrough: Blood Test Makes it Possible to Track Alzheimer’s Advancement 

June 18, 2019

A connection between Neurofilament light (NfL) levels present in the blood and Alzheimer’s disease was recently made in a study released by the JAMA Network. This discovery could lead to a simple blood test that has the ability to detect the levels of conditions associated with cognitive impairment.  This early testing is an incredible breakthrough because, for starters, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. 

The study 

Nikalas Mattsson, MD, PhD, of Lund University in Sweden, led his colleagues in a cohort study of 1,583 individuals in the multicenter Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative study from September 2005 through June 2016. Of the total individuals studied, 45% were women with a mean age of about 73. No cognitive impairment was evident in 401 people (control group), 855 showed mild cognitive impairment, while 327 were exhibiting dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. As reported in JAMA Neurology, Longitudinal NfL levels were linked to baseline cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, MRI measures, PET imaging, and poor cognitive performance among Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Study (ADNI) participants. “We could detect significant longitudinal changes in plasma NfL and these correlated with other changes related to Alzheimer’s disease,” Mattsson reported. 

Back up. What are Neurofilament light (NfL) levels? 

When brain neurons are damaged or dying, they release NfL protein that leaks into the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and blood. Rising levels of NfL in CSF signal neuron loss that has occurred in stroke, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and other neurologic conditions. 

NfL levels in the final report 

In this study, baseline mean NfL levels were higher in patients with mild cognitive impairment (37.9 ng/L) and Alzheimer’s dementia (45.9 ng/L) than in the control group that was cognitively unimpaired (32.1 ng/L). Serum NfL levels increased significantly in all groups, but rates were greatest among patients with Alzheimer’s dementia.  

Overall, faster increases in NfL levels correlated with faster increases in CSF biomarkers of neuronal injury. This resulted in increased rates of cerebral atrophy and hypometabolism, and faster worsening in overall cognition. 

Promising Biomarker 

In the instance of studying Alzheimer’s disease, biomarkers are a measurable substance whose presence indicates a worsening of cognition.  Blood-based biomarkers like NfL can make it possible to detect and monitor biological changes in Alzheimer’s disease with non-invasive methods, Mattsson explains. New evidence indicates that blood-based FfL levels may be a promising biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease neurodegeneration.  

For example, in a study reported by MedToday that examined individuals with a rare form of familial Alzheimer’s disease, serum NfL predicted disease progression and brain neurodegeneration at very early stages, before symptoms even began to develop.  

Non-Invasive Testing Methods 

Blood-based biomarkers like NfL can make it possible to detect and monitor biological changes in Alzheimer’s disease with non-invasive methods, Mattsson noted. “In the future, this test may be used together with plasma measures of beta-amyloid and tau for a comprehensive work-up of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias,” he reported to MedPage Today.   

Other Articles

  • New Study Might Diagnose CTE in Brains of the Living
    May 23, 2019
    A recent study published in the New England Journal of medicine revealed that brain scans of more than two dozen former NFL players found that the men had abnormal levels of the protein linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E.), the degenerative brain disease we have discussed here that’s associated with repeated hits to the head.  
  • JUST PUT DOWN THE SUPPLEMENTS 
    May 15, 2019
    There have long been debates among established medical authorities and supplement manufacturers, especially when it comes to treating cognitive decline. Are the myriad of supplements currently on the market a genie in a bottle? Or is it better to focus on leading a healthy, balanced lifestyle? 
  • BREAKING NEWS: Promising Alzheimer’s Drug Fails in Late-Stage Human Trials 
    April 23, 2019
    Another big blow came to the Alzheimer’s research community late last month when pharmaceutical company Biogen and Eisai Co. announced on March 22 that they would terminate two late-stage studies of
  • Could a Noninvasive Eye Exam Preemptively Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease? 
    April 8, 2019
    That’s what a recent study conducted at the Duke Eye Center suggests. The study of more than 200 people, published on March 11 in the journal Ophthalmology Retina, proposes that a quick, noninvasive
  • Tom Seaver Diagnosis Reignites Lyme Disease & Dementia Debate
    April 4, 2019
    AN ARTICLE IN The New York Times recently revealed that Tom Seaver, legendary pitcher and the most prominent player in New York Mets history, is stepping back from public life because of advancing dementia. It was recently discovered that Seaver, 74, has dementia. However, for many years he suffered from the effects of Lyme disease, which can cause cognitive problems similar to dementia.
  • TEXAS RESEARCH: ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE VACCINE IN THE WORKS 
    April 1, 2019
    This small bit of Alzheimer’s news out of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center slipped under the radar late last year. The researchers there revealed that an experimental vaccine that