Can We Predict When We’ll Get Alzheimer’s Disease?
A new study presents an algorithm that uses brain scans to predict symptom onset of Alzheimer’s disease
Wanted: rapid diagnosis
Dementia affects more than 55 million people globally. Most of them (an estimated 60–70%) suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.
Each year, 10 more million join them.
Staggering numbers.
And they’re not going down. Between 2000 and 2019, the number of death certificates that record Alzheimer’s disease as the cause of death has more than doubled. Sure, that’s a proxy, but still…
Fortunately, the biology of Alzheimer’s disease and potential treatments are active fields of research. Treatments in all shapes and colors are investigated, from gut microbes or probiotics, to immune therapy and small designer molecules. (Of course, we should not discount lifestyle changes, which are — for now? — the best and most customizable bets we have to safeguard our brains.)
However, one of the major challenges in treating Alzheimer’s disease is that the diagnosis always comes too late, past the point of no return. Scientists are looking at predictive makers in the form of specific blood proteins or changes in the eyes.
