Staging Alzheimer's Disease Using Blood Samples

To use accurate novel blood-based biomarkers and proteomics for a better and more accessible diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer’s disease, for a more personalized healthcare.

Researchers will develop a staging model for Alzheimer’s disease based on plasma biomarkers, which will help characterize people across the different phases of the disease. The study will also investigate how multiple protein levels change across these stages to better understand the complex biological processes that occur during the disease. Researchers envision that the staging model may help decide, in an easy and cost-effective way, who would benefit from a treatment against Alzheimer’s disease and perform a more personalized management of the individual. Studying protein changes may also unveil new drug targets for Alzheimer’s.

First, it is based on a novel biomarker, that was very recently validated in cerebrospinal fluid and that its translation to blood has shown very promising preliminary results while being significantly less invasive. Second, we aim to use very innovative strategies to stage participants using non-invasive biomarkers, a method that could be used in the primary care setting. Finally, the proteomics field is becoming important in Alzheimer’s disease as it may open a door to a deeper understanding on the multifactorial facet of the disease

Patients would benefit from an improved prediction of their expected disease development, allowing them to do better decisions for their future. Having an easy way to characterize participants within the AD continuum may be also helpful for practitioners to do a fully informed-based management of the patients, especially to decide who could benefit from disease modifying treatments. Furthermore, the discovery of proteins that change their levels across the disease continuum may also help on revealing new drug targets against Alzheimer’s disease