Proteins That Predict Future Dementia, Alzheimer's Risk, Identified

A new study in Nature Aging determined that the late-life development of dementia, often from Alzheimer's disease, is associated with abnormal blood levels of numerous proteins up to five years earlier, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers analyzed blood samples of over 10,000 middle-aged and senior people, and connected abnormal blood levels of 38 proteins to higher risks of developing Alzheimer's in five years. Sixteen proteins appeared to predict Alzheimer's risk 20 years in advance. The analysis cited levels of one protein, SVEP1, as a likely causal contributor to disease progression. Other proteins associated with Alzheimer's risk included several key immune proteins, which tracks with decades of findings linking Alzheimer's to abnormally aggressive immune activity in the brain. "Some of these proteins we uncovered are just indicators that disease might occur, but a subset may be causally relevant, which is exciting because it raises the possibility of targeting these proteins with future treatments," said Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor Josef Coresh.