Scientists Confirm That Testing Blood Levels Can Track Progress Of Alzheimer’s Disease
Dementia is one of the most common chronic disorders found in older-aged people, and what’s more, more than 60 percent of people with dementia suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. First discovered in the year 1906, the disease is incredibly complex to diagnose and takes its toll slowly. One of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s is short term memory loss. The long-term symptoms of the same are quite serious. For instance, people lose the ability to sustain independent living and have difficulties in assessing the environment. Regulating Alzheimer’s disease may be much easier from now on, as a long term study has suggested that some forms of blood testing can help track the progress of Alzheimer’s disease.
Tracking The Progress Of Alzheimer’s Disease
Dr. Niklas Mattsson, the physician at Skåne University Hospital and the lead author of the aforementioned study stated that a protein called neurofilament light in the blood can be conveniently used to measure brain cell damage in various stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The protein leaks/spills out of damaged and dying nerve cells and travels into the cerebrospinal fluid, heading into the bloodstream shortly afterwards. As per previous studies, people who suffer from diseases like Alzheimer’s have a higher level of neurofilament light in the blood.
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Such a method of regulating blood levels for Alzheimer’s can effectively help in regulating whether treatments for Alzheimer’s are working or not. As of now, no non-invasive technique exists via which the progression of the disease can be kept in check. Moreover, another study in the same hemisphere concluded that the neurofilament light in the blood could help in the identification process of the disease almost 10 years before the emergence of symptoms such as memory loss and thinking problems. The research was performed on a age specific group of people above the age of 65, where the onset of Alzheimer’s is highly imminent.
