Midlife Blood Test May Reveal Alzheimer’s Disease Risk In Advance

Vascular dysfunction refers to a information successful which humor vessels do not usability properly, pinch a number of causes from abnormal humor clots to atherosclerosis, inflammation, diabetes, precocious humor pressure, smoking and age. It mostly is recognized arsenic contributing to nan consequence of Alzheimer's and related dementias, but nan underlying mechanisms person been unclear.

The squad led by nan Biggs Institute and NYU identifies 1 of those mechanisms – platelet aggregation, nan process by which platelets aliases mini humor cells shape a clot.

Specifically, nan scientists nexus nan platelet aggregation consequence successful nan humor to positron emanation tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) encephalon markers of Alzheimer's illness consequence successful middle-aged people. The breakthrough could person wide implications for some diagnosing nan illness and identifying caller therapies astatine an early shape of aging, galore years earlier Alzheimer's symptoms are evident.

"We judge that since platelets are easy to get successful nan blood, they could yet go portion of midlife screening to place group astatine consequence and use preventive interventions targeting platelet-related inflammation," said Sudha Seshadri, MD, professor of neurology, founding head of nan Biggs Institute and elder writer of nan study, "Association of Platelet Aggregation With Markers of Alzheimer Disease Pathology successful Middle-Aged Participants of nan Framingham Heart Study," published Nov. 4 successful nan diary Neurology.

Up to 75% of patients diagnosed pinch Alzheimer's besides show vascular pathology, and 25% of patients pinch vascular dementia complete nan property of 75 show amyloid pathology, an parameter of accrued consequence of Alzheimer's.

The caller study analyzed 382 dementia-free participants pinch an mean property of 56 enrolled successful nan Framingham Heart Study, a semipermanent and ongoing community-based observational study of residents successful Framingham, Massachusetts, making love to 1948.

Researchers antecedently had identified that among middle-aged Framingham participants free of anti-platelet therapy, platelet aggregation was independently associated pinch nan consequence of incident dementia during a 20-year follow-up, adjusting for imaginable demographic and objective variables.

So scientists this clip sought an relation betwixt platelet aggregation and existent Alzheimer's biomarkers astatine midlife.

The Framingham study has 1 of nan largest repositories of platelet aggregation information and Alzheimer's biomarkers available. And PET imaging, a atomic medicine method that uses radioactive tracers to create elaborate images of organs and tissues successful nan body, was acquired successful conjunction pinch MRI from a ample subsample of middle-aged participants successful Framingham's third-generation cohort.

The investigation squad measured platelet aggregation successful nan Framingham participants utilizing a starring laboratory trial for diagnosing platelet dysfunction called ray transmission aggregometry (LTA). Then, they evaluated associations betwixt platelet aggregation and amyloid and tau – nan hallmark proteins of Alzheimer's – connected PET and MRI encephalon scans.

The results indicated a affirmative link: People whose platelets clump together much powerfully besides thin to person higher levels of amyloid and tau proteins successful nan brain, which are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

However, this nexus isn't nan aforesaid crossed everyone.

"The narration shows up successful group whose platelets are astatine nan lowest extremity of nan activity standard pinch nan experiments that were used," said Alexa Beiser, professor of biostatistics astatine nan Boston University School of Public Health who has been moving pinch Framingham information for decades and played a basal domiciled successful nan statistical study of nan study. "In that group, stronger platelet clumping goes hand-in-hand pinch much amyloid and tau connected encephalon scans. For group pinch higher platelet activity, nan narration is little clear.",

Still, nan scientists concluded that circulating platelets successful nan humor whitethorn connection early clues to Alzheimer's consequence – possibly decades earlier symptoms look – pinch nan information suggesting that definite features of nan platelets successful midlife whitethorn beryllium tied to early encephalon changes linked to nan disease.

Ramos-Cejudo is main interrogator of a caller five-year, $8 cardinal assistance grant from nan National Institute connected Aging of nan National Institutes of Health to further study really peripheral inflammation, and platelet activity successful particular, lend to encephalon aging and nan progression of Alzheimer's and related dementias.

Mohamad Habes, PhD, head of nan neuroimaging halfway astatine nan Biggs Institute, and Beiser are sub-award main investigators for nan grant.

Other authors of nan just-published study additionally are pinch Harvard Medical School, University of California-Davis and nan Hemostasis and Platelet Biology Lab astatine nan National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of Framingham, Massachusetts.

The Biggs Institute soon will beryllium housed successful nan caller $100 cardinal Center for Brain Health astatine UT Health San Antonio, group to unfastened successful December, and pinch a ribbon-cutting this Wednesday, Nov. 12. The 103,000-square-foot halfway is designed to supply a broad and hopeful acquisition for individuals facing neurological diseases, while advancing nan subject down test and treatment.

Source:

Journal reference:

Ramos-Cejudo, J., et al. (2025). Association of Platelet Aggregation With Markers of Alzheimer Disease Pathology successful Middle-Aged Participants of nan Framingham Heart Study. Neurology. doi: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000214314. https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000214314