Blood test can show biological age and predict Alzheimer's disease

A simple blood test can help scientists to predict the onset of diseases like Alzheimer's and show one's true biological age.Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia - a loss of mental ability associated with the gradual death of brain cells. NHS figures show that it affects around 500,000 people in the UK.It is known that early intervention is important in Alzheimer's. Therefore, a team of researchers at King's College London, Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Duke University in the US set out to investigate whether a blood test can help to show the rate at which individual bodies are ageing and whether the disease is present or likely to develop.For the study, they used a process called RNA-profiling to measure and compare gene expression in thousands of human tissue samples.They compared tissue from 25-year-olds to that of 65-year-olds and found a pattern of activation in 150 genes that were crucial for health ageing.Differences were also identified in the age scores of participants born within one year of each other, indicating that 'biological age' differs from 'chronological age'.Individuals with a poor 'health age gene score' were more likely to suffer from mental decline and health problems, such as poor kidney functioning. Interestingly, these participants were also more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.Doug Brown, director of research at Alzheimer's Society said: 'Given the need for early intervention, many of the current drugs in development for Alzheimer's are being tested in the earliest stages of the disease, sometimes even before symptoms begin.'With further development this research could help in our quest to find new treatments for the condition, by identifying people who are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease so that they can participate in clinical trials.'Eric Karran, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, added: 'This study suggests a way to measure a person's 'biological age' and could reveal insights into the ageing process and why some people are more susceptible to age-related health conditions.'There is much interest in developing a blood test for diseases like Alzheimer's, but such a test would need rigorously validating to show it was accurate and sensitive before it could be used in the clinic.'The study has been published in the journal Genome Biology.ADNFCR-554-ID-801799852-ADNFCR

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