Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: New Blood Test Detects Risk a Decade Early | Your Morning

[00:00:00]There is a blood test that could determine your risk level for developing Alzheimer's up to a decade before symptoms appear. New research found a specific protein could hold clues as to whether someone will experience cognitive decline later in life. It is a potential breakthrough for a disease that currently has no cure. Joining us now is neuroscientist and lead author of the new research, Dr. Rachel Buckley.

[00:00:23]Welcome to the show.

[00:00:25]>> Thank you so much.

[00:00:26]>> This is very exciting. The protein that your research looked at is known as p-tau 217. What is the connection between that protein and the potential to develop Alzheimer's?

[00:00:37]>> Yeah, so p-tau 217 is a fascinating little marker in the blood. We think it's a really good marker of the Alzheimer's disease that's happening in the brain actually. It's funny because it has the name tau, but what we know about it so far is that it's actually associated with the amount of amyloid in the brain. It's one of those hallmark pathologies that we know occurs really early on in Alzheimer's disease. And what we wanted to ask in our study was what does this marker in the blood tell us about later life cognitive impairments?

[00:01:10]>> So the new findings as I understand them found that older adults who had very high levels of the protein had a 38% risk of developing cognitive impairment over 5 years. And then that risk grows to 78% over a decade. In Canada, I understand clinics offer blood tests for the protein, but does your research suggest that everybody should get one or only specific people?

[00:01:32]>> It's a great question. So right now the p-tau 217 blood test is available, but only for patients who already have cognitive symptoms. So we know that right now that there are some drugs available that are able to treat and clear amyloid in the brain, but those are in patients with cognitive symptoms.

[00:01:49]What our question was really interested in asking was what about those people just living in the community right now who don't have cognitive symptoms, but may have lots of amyloid in the brain.

[00:02:00]Can we tell something about them using these blood tests of P-tau217, and can that inform likelihood of risk over that 5- or 10-year period that you mentioned?

[00:02:10]>> Dr. Brickley, I want to ask you quickly what some of those symptoms would be if somebody's at home thinking maybe this is a test that I should go and get. What should they be considering?

[00:02:18]>> So, right now we do not recommend going out to get a blood test of P-tau217 just yet. The reason is because right now if a doctor saw someone in the clinic and they had no cognitive symptoms, the P-tau217 wouldn't give them any different recommendations. They would still tell you, you know, be active, have a good diet, get good sleep, all of those good things. What's good for the heart is good for the brain. Right now we do not have treatments, but I'm hopeful and very optimistic that over the next 12 to 18 months that story is going to change. We have prevention trials as we speak running right now in people who have elevated levels of amyloid in the brain, but no cognitive symptoms. And what they're doing is trying to see whether we can actually clear away the disease really early. If we are able to see positive results on those trials, then these blood tests will be really important cuz they will help to detect and pick up those individuals early so that we can treat.

[00:03:14]>> It does feel like a glimmer of hope to something that can feel very scary and very dark because there's so much we don't know about it still. We do know though that 750,000 Canadians live with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia right now. And as you said, there's no cure for it. But what medically can we offer those who find out they are at higher risk of developing the disease later in life?

[00:03:36]>> Yeah, it's a great question. So, right now I definitely recommend for those people who do have cognitive symptoms, and if they haven't already gone to see their doctor, they should go see their health care provider. It's the first point of contact, and they will obviously put them through the pipeline of what things can be done uh help to prevent or delay or slow. Um and right now we do have some drugs available at least in the United States and I believe um we just had really good news actually in Canada about lecanemab being finally approved. Um and so there will be uh treatments available to more Canadians.

[00:04:09]Um and those things will be offered in conjunction with other um sort of uh lifestyle-related changes. Um but certainly having those conversations early and often with a health care provider will be really important.

[00:04:22]>> Dr. Buckley, it is so great to be able to bring a good news story, especially in the midst of the news cycle we're in right now. Thanks for coming on this morning.

[00:04:29]>> Thank you so much.

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