Personalized Prediction is on the horizon
Line Kühnel and her colleagues in Europe figured out which information can predict whether people with pre-dementia will develop dementia later on.
As we’ve talked about at aldora, just because you have pre-dementia, does not mean you will go on to develop dementia.
We know that there are things you can do to reverse your disease.
We also know that different people are more likely to progress to dementia than others. Dementia experts use your age, educational level, personal risk factors, and a score called the “MIS” on your memory testing (MoCA) to help estimate this.
New tests (i.e. blood tests and imaging tests) aim to predict with even greater precision who is most at risk.
This would help focus on who absolutely must change their lifestyle - and possibly take medications - if they want to avoid dementia in their future.
You can read the full study here, with key points summarized for you in this article.
Not all of us follow the same path with pre-dementia. Who will progress? Who will stay the same?
What Information Can Predict Dementia Risk?
Of 9 potential biomarkers, Kühnel and colleagues found 3 that could be combined to make a “biomarker profile”.
An MRI image of your brain - looking at the size of your hippocampus (the memory center)
Biomarkers in your cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which is the fluid around your brain that can only be accessed by inserting a needle into your back to reach your spinal canal. These included:
2. Total tau proteins
3. Amyloid proteins (A𝛽1-42 and A𝛽1-40)
These were combined with information about you, including:
4. Your age
5. How many years of education you received
How does this help you?
Right now, these biomarker tests are only used in clinical studies.
Finding people who are most likely going to develop dementia, from all the people with pre-dementia, helps researchers focus on the ones most at risk.
They can test new drugs in these individuals, rather than testing in people who would never have gone on to develop dementia.
This makes drug testing simpler, and allows pharmaceutical companies to complete trials sooner, which is a good thing for all of us.
While I am a proponent for lifestyle changes, there are times when medications are also helpful.
One day, these tests might also be used in your doctor’s office to give you a level of risk, which you can then use to decide whether you want to make lifestyle changes or try medications.
However, we’ll likely need to switch from CSF tests (which most doctors don’t do, and most patients aren’t thrilled about a needle in their back) to usual blood tests (simple poke in the arm).
These “blood biomarkers” are still being developed - stay tuned to Updates to find out more.
