- Researchers investigated the presence of blood biomarkers in those with mild cognitive decline who go on to develop Alzheimer’s.
- They found that human brain cells exposed to blood from those who went on develop Alzheimer’s displayed reduced cell division and increased cell death.
- The researchers noted that their findings pave the way for future mechanistic studies.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common kind of dementia, a condition involving gradual cognitive and neurological decline. In 2020,
Clinical studies show that 10–15% of those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) progress into Alzheimer’s, compared to 1–2% of cognitively healthy elderly people.
A better understanding of risk factors that may lead those with MCI to develop Alzheimer’s disease could pave the way for early-stage interventions.
Recent
Recently, researchers conducted a study to observe how blood samples from patients with MCI affected the growth of brain cells over time.
“This study concludes there is something in the blood of those with MCI who are closer to manifesting notable cognitive decline to those who are not as close to manifesting cognitive decline. Whatever it is that is different, it has an impact on neuronal cell cultures,” Dr. Russell Swerdlow, professor of neurology and director of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at KU Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, told Medical News Today.
The study was published in Brain.
For the study, the researchers collected 161 blood samples over several years from 56 individuals diagnosed with MCI.
They then observed how these blood samples affected the development of human brain cells over time. Among the individuals, 36 went on to…
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