It's normal to forget small things as we get older. Things like finding where our keys are or where our glasses are, not only happen to our parents, but sometimes we too. But when that forgetfulness gradually increases, and we forget our own children, our own name, our village, and even the way home, doesn't it make our body tingle? Today we are going to talk about this terrible 'forgetfulness disease' that none of us even like to hear about, or
dementia as it is medically called. This article is about the latest research that brings a little hope to the fear of this disease.
What is this new discovery?
A very important study was recently published in the world-renowned scientific journal 'Nature Aging'. According to this research team, by analyzing certain proteins in a person's blood, it is possible to predict the likelihood of that person developing dementia in about 10-15 years. Imagine, how great is it to be able to know something like this
even ten years before symptoms appear? Doctors call this "ultra early detection". Currently, there is no cure for dementia. However, if we know that the disease may come much earlier, we can do a lot to control or delay the development of the disease. For example, we have time to make lifestyle changes and start certain treatments as prescribed by a doctor.
Simply put, it's like getting a weather forecast before a storm hits. It gives us time to prepare for it.
How does this blood test work?
To understand this, we first need to think about our bodies. Our bodies are very complex machines. There are various chemicals that communicate messages between different parts of this machine.
Proteins are one such important messenger. In particular, plasma proteins in the blood tell a lot about the health of our body. What this research has done is to analyze about 1,500 such proteins in the blood and identify a specific protein pattern that indicates the risk of dementia. Through this, they have further confirmed the relationship between three previously discovered proteins. They have also found a new protein that is very important for this prediction. Let's see what these proteins are and what they say in the table below.
| Protein | Simply put, what does this mean? |
|---|
| GFAP | This is related to damage or inflammation in the brain. In dementia, the levels of this protein change as brain cells are damaged. |
| NEFL | This protein accumulates in the blood when the brain's nerve cells (neurons) are damaged. This is a sign of nerve cell destruction. |
| GDF15 | This protein increases during various stress situations in the body. It has also been found to increase during processes related to dementia. |
| LTBP2 (newly identified) | This is the latest and most powerful finding of this research. This protein has shown very high accuracy in predicting dementia risk. |
How accurate is this?
The real success of this research is not that they looked at just one protein. They combined information from several of these proteins to build a more accurate prediction.
Imagine, what these researchers have done is like a detective who doesn't just look at one piece of evidence, but rather gathers a lot of evidence and comes to a conclusion.
Also, when the person's
age, gender, education level , and the presence of the
`APOE4` gene are added to this protein data, the accuracy of the prediction increases even more. `APOE4` is a gene that increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. However, not everyone who has this gene will develop the disease, nor will everyone who does not have it. It is only a risk factor.
Is Dementia the same disease?
No. Dementia is not a single disease, but a general name for a collection of symptoms. Just like the word "fever", there can be many causes for it. There are several main causes of dementia. 1.
Alzheimer's disease: This is the most common form of dementia. What happens here is that brain cells gradually die and abnormal proteins (plaques and tangles) are deposited in the brain. It's like the connections in the brain are rusting away. 2.
Vascular Dementia: A condition caused by damage to the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. For example, this condition can occur when blood flow to parts of the brain is disrupted due to multiple small strokes. It's like the 'current' has been cut off to some parts of the brain. Another special feature of this new blood test is that it can predict not only the risk of dementia in general, but also the two types of dementia, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, separately. This will be very important in planning treatment in the future.
The limitations of this research and our future
As with all research, there are some limitations to this one. The main one is that the participants in this study were mostly white people living in the UK. Therefore, further study is needed to see how well these results apply to an Asian population like ours. Also, this is still in the research stage.
You can't ask your doctor for this test tomorrow morning. But according to the researchers, discussions have already begun to develop a commercially available test based on these results. This means that this could become a reality in a few years.
The important thing is that, while hearing such hopeful news, we don't forget what we can do right now. Eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly , controlling blood pressure and diabetes , and engaging in activities that challenge the brain (e.g., reading books, solving puzzles) are the best ways to reduce the risk of dementia .
If you or a loved one is having memory problems, don't be afraid
to talk to your family doctor. Take-Home Message
- New research suggests that a blood test may be able to detect dementia 10-15 years before symptoms appear.
- This method is based on analyzing the levels of several specific proteins in the blood (plasma proteins).
- Early identification of disease risk is a great way to make lifestyle changes to control the progression of the disease, and prepare for future treatment.
- This is still in the research stage and has not yet reached clinical use.
- If you or someone close to you is having any memory problems, it is very important to discuss it with your doctor.
dementia, alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, blood test, early detection, memory loss, brain health
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