CHICAGO: Proteins in blood may help detect if a person is suffering from dementia a decade before they experience troubling symptoms, scientists have said.
For the study, blood samples were taken from 20 people who later developed Alzheimer’s disease, up to 10 years before they were diagnosed and then after they were diagnosed.
Blood was also taken once from 26 people with Alzheimer’s disease and 16 people with frontotemporal dementia, which leads to changes in personality or behaviour, and also may affect the memory.
Samples were also taken from 46 healthy people who did not have any problems with thinking or memory skills.
Scientists found the level of protein was significantly different for the healthy controls than for those with dementia, both before and after symptoms developed.