Brain scans could predict Alzheimer’s disease years before patients show serious symptoms, scientists discover
- Brain scans look for ‘tau’ compound now named as the ‘driver’ of Alzheimer’s
- It surpasses the amyloid protein which predicts the disease’s toll on the brain
- Using the positive emission tomography (PET) scans may lead to better drugs
- The University of California tracked 32 patients in the early stages of the disease
Cutting-edge brain scans could predict how Alzheimer’s disease will develop years before patients show serious symptoms, say scientists.
The scans look for a rogue compound called tau, which has now been named as the ‘key driver’ of Alzheimer’s.
It ‘far surpasses’ amyloid – another protein linked to the devastating disorder – in predicting the toll on the brain, say researchers. They found that by using PET (positive emission tomography) brain scans to look for clumps of tau they could predict how the disease would develop in patients.
Positive emission tomography (PET) scans look for the tau compound and might lead to better drugs for treating Alzheimer’s. This new technology surpasses the amyloid protein which predicts the disease’s toll on the brain and could offer more personalised care for patients (file image)
The discovery may lead to better drugs, and a screening programme for those most at risk. It also offers hope that drugs currently under development will actually combat the cause. Current therapies only treat the symptoms.
PET scans also open the door to quicker trials – and more personalised care.
Scientists from the University of California in San Francisco reached their findings about the importance of tau after tracking 32 patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s for up to two years.
PET scans also open the door to quicker trials. The scans may lead to a screening programme for those most at risk of Alzheimer’s
It was once feared impossible to measure tau in the living brain. But an injectable molecule called flortaucipir has now been developed.
It binds to the protein and emits a mild radioactive signal that can be picked up by PET scans. It’s currently under review by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
Prof Rabinovici’s study is the first attempt to test whether tau levels can predict future brain degeneration.
The study, carried out by the University of San Francisco, tracked 32 patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s for up to two years (pictured, MRI scanner). It hopes drugs currently under development will combat the cause, unlike current medicines which only treat the symptoms
The patients also received MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans to measure their brain’s structural integrity at the start and in follow-up visits one to two years later.
Their amounts of tau at the outset predicted how much degeneration would occur – on average 15 months later.
Moreover, local patterns of build-up indicated subsequent damage in the same areas with more than 40 percent accuracy.
In contrast, initial amyloid-PET scans correctly predicted only 3 percent of future mental degeneration.
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