A recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease has discovered that a sugar molecule present in the blood can predict the onset of Alzheimer disease.
This research, conducted by a team of scientists from the Karolinska Institutet, is a significant advance in the identification of biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and could lead to earlier diagnosis and better treatment options. treatment.
The sugar molecule in question is glycans. and is found on the surface of proteins. The researchers found that people who had high levels of glycans in their blood were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those with lower levels.
The study involved a group of 233 people who were followed over a 17-year period. Monitoring every three and six years. The samples were collected in the periods of 2001 and 2004.
Glycans may be the key to developing preventive treatments for Alzheimer’s
The researchers used samples from these 233 people who underwent the Swedish National Study on Aging and Caring at Kungsholmen. The changes that these people showed in the loss of memory or the onset of dementia.
This finding is significant because it suggests that glycans could be used as biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease.. Biomarkers are biological indicators that can be used to identify the presence of a disease or to predict the probability of developing a disease.
Currently, there are no reliable biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease, making it difficult to diagnose the disease in its early stages when treatment options are most effective.
The identification of a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease could also lead to the development of new treatments. Currently, the only treatments available for Alzheimer’s disease are those that relieve the symptoms of the disease.
However, if a biomarker could be used to identify people at high risk of developing the disease, it might be possible to develop treatments that prevent the onset of the disease or slow its progression.
In short, the discovery of a possible biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease is a significant advance in the fight against this debilitating disease. However, more research is needed to confirm these findings and develop effective treatments for this devastating disease that causes memory loss among other effects.
