A new biomarker could help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease early. The biomarker, known as tau, is found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. This is the first time tau has been linked to the disease.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California, looked at brain scans of people with Alzheimer’s. They found that people with the disease had higher levels of tau than people without the disease.
Tau is a protein that is involved in the formation of tangles in the brain. These tangles are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
The findings suggest that tau could be used to diagnose Alzheimer’s earlier than other methods. Currently, the disease is diagnosed based on symptoms. By the time symptoms appear, the disease is often advanced.
The study is small and more research is needed to confirm the findings. However, the results are promising and could lead to the development of new ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s.
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – A new biomarker could help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease early, according to a new study.
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects around 5.7 million people in the United States alone. Early diagnosis is important for treatment and management of the disease, but it can be difficult to diagnose in its early stages.
The new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found that a protein called USP9X could be a potential biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease.
USP9X is a deubiquitinating enzyme, which means it helps to break down proteins that have been tagged with a molecule called ubiquitin. These proteins are typically targeted for destruction by the cell.
However, in Alzheimer’s disease, ubiquitinated proteins build up in the brain, causing neurodegeneration.
The researchers found that levels of USP9X were significantly lower in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease compared to healthy control subjects.
What’s more, they found that levels of USP9X were lower in the brains of people with mild Alzheimer’s disease compared to those with more severe disease.
This suggests that USP9X could be a potential biomarker for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers say that further studies are needed to confirm their findings.
However, if USP9X does prove to be a reliable biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease, it could help to diagnose the disease early, when treatments are more likely to be effective.
