Genetic Material May Help With Early Alzheimer's Detection

A study published in Nature Scientific Reports has found that minuscule snippets of genetic material called microRNA can help detect Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases early, reports United Press International . Indiana University Professor Hui-Chen Lu's team discovered that changes in microRNA are identifiable in mice long before they start to manifest symptoms of neurodegenerative conditions. The researchers analyzed microRNA and messenger RNA in a group of healthy rats and in another group genetically modified to develop symptoms of dementia. The highest level of "dysregulation," or deviation from normal levels, was detected in the microRNA of the dementia group before their physical symptoms developed. "Higher levels of pre-symptomatic microRNA dysregulation are significant because it strongly suggests that it may have a role in changes in the brain in later stages," says Hui-Chen. MicroRNA can better predict neurodegenerative diseases than regular "messenger RNA," which directs cells to produce specific proteins. Hui-Chen's team compared the microRNA changes to the messenger RNA changes to detect biological pathways impacted by microRNA dysregulation, suggesting such changes affected pathways linked to immunity in the dementia-prone model. Additional tests were held to study a specific type of microRNA, microRNA 142, that they noticed more of in the dementia model; microRNA 142 is known to significantly contribute to inflammation. Introducing microRNA 142 into the brain caused significant neuroinflammation, and many other studies have demonstrated that chronic inflammation plays a role in neurodegeneration.