They develop a tool that predicts the risk of Alzheimer’s

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic (United States) have developed a new tool which allows estimating a person’s risk of developing memory and thinking problems associated with Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms appear.

The research, published in The Lancet Neurologyis based on decades of data from the Mayo Clinic Aging Studyone of the world’s most comprehensive population-based studies of brain health.

The study revealed that women are at higher risk Over the course of their lives, men are more likely to develop dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a transitional stage between healthy aging and dementia that often affects quality of life but still allows people to live independently. Men and women with the common APOE e4 genetic variant also have an increased risk throughout their lives.

A model to anticipate Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by two key proteins in the brain: amyloid, which forms plaques, and the protein tau, which forms neurofibrillary tangles. Drugs recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) remove amyloid from the brain and can slow down the progression of the disease in people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia.

“What’s exciting now is that we’re looking even earlier – before symptoms start – to see if we can predict who might be at higher risk of developing cognitive problems in the future,” he said. Clifford Jackradiologist and lead author of the study.

The new predictive model combined several factorssuch as age, sex, genetic risk associated with the APOE genotype and brain amyloid levels detected by positron emission tomography (PET). With this data, researchers can calculate the probability that a person will develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) OR dementia within 10 years or over their lifetime. Of all the predictors evaluated, brain amyloid levels detected by PET scan were the factor with the greatest influence on the risk of developing MCI and dementia throughout life.

“This type of risk estimation could eventually help people and their doctors decide when to start therapy or make lifestyle changes that may delay the onset of symptoms.”. “It’s similar to how cholesterol levels help predict heart attack risk,” from the Mayo Clinic Aging Study, who co-authored the study.

The analysis of this study included data from 5,858 participants. Unlike most studies, Mayo researchers can continue to follow participants even after they stop actively participating, using data from their medical records, ensuring virtually complete information about who develops cognitive decline or dementia.

The study highlights the importance of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is the stage targeted by current drugs against Alzheimer’s, which slow but do not stop its progression. Although the new tool is currently a research instrument, represents a great advance towards more personalized attention. Future versions could incorporate blood biomarkers, making testing easier to access.