A breakthrough technique that can help measure the brain proteins that trigger Alzheimer's disease, could also lead to diagnosis in patients before the first symptoms even appear, according to a new study.
A major problem with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia has been that the disease begins long before symptoms are detected or diagnosed.
While brain damage occurs silently for years before the first symptoms appear, the first toxic protein clump that may eventually trigger dementia gradually builds up, say researchers. Since these early changes are impossible to detect using existing techniques, by the time a patient experiences memory loss and other symptoms, most of the damage is done.
But a new study now describes a way to “paint” and clearly visualise the first tiny protein clumps that could signal the onset of Alzheimer’s, scientists found.
Scientists designed and tested fluorescent molecules called “FibrilPaint” that bind exclusively to the long, thread-like proteins that form clumps in the brains of dementia patients. The paint reveals the size of the thread-like proteins – also called amyloid fibrils – from the first, tiny clumps to fully developed structures, researchers say.
Using this paint, scientists hope to measure and track the level of these dementia-related proteins in the spinal fluid of patients at risk of dementia, according to the research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“With FibrilPaint, we can now follow their growth step by step in liquid form,” said Stefan Rüdige, another author of the study from Utrecht University.
“Future efforts with FibrilRuler Test could be to study these fibrils directly in patient samples. This offers the interesting possibility to screen patient samples for indication of neurodegeneration,” scientists write.
The paint may also help improve the development of dementia drugs, researchers say.
“Such measurements offer valuable insights into how compounds or biological processes influence amyloid fibril elongation or fragmentation,” scientists write.
“With our technique, we will soon be able to monitor the progression of the disease much more precisely and determine whether a treatment is effective," Dr Dekker says.
