Pittsburgh, June 12, 2023 -- Researchers have identified a potential biomarker for early screening of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), possibly allowing physicians to identify those at significant risk for the disease and potentially offering early therapeutic treatment options, according to findings published online in the leading journal, ACS Chemical Neuroscience.
The research team includes Pravat Mandal, PhD, former director-in-charge of the National Brain Research Institute of India, adjunct professor of neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh and senior research scientist at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne, Australia. He collaborated with Joseph Maroon, MD, clinical professor and Heindl Scholar in Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh.
Using state-of the-art magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy, the team measured the chemical composition of the brain non-invasively. They discovered that in normal patients at all ages, brain and blood glutathione (GSH) levels and metallic profiles are maintained in a balanced state. They also reviewed their earlier study in which they documented lower blood GSH and increased iron levels in the brain in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and with confirmed AD.
Based on their studies, MR Spectroscopy appears to offer a non-invasive neuroimaging biomarker to diagnose AD. Their recently published study and associated analysis from the scientific literature indicates that a low GSH (in plasma) and decreased iron level in the blood (serum) may also be potential biomarkers and indicate a significant risk factor for AD.
“These novel findings need to be further validated with larger studies in patients with MCI and AD before they can be deployed globally as an early screening tool,” Dr. Mandal said. Importantly, however, these observations relative to oxidative stress suggest possible therapeutic options beyond the amyloid hypothesis for treatment (and possible prevention) of AD by reducing oxidative stress (OS) through manipulating GSH and iron levels.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was first described in 1906 by Alois Alzheimer. Despite massive research efforts, there is no cure, and the specific cause remains unknown. Individuals are not aware if they are affected by AD until symptoms like forgetfulness and memory loss are observed. Scientists are diligently working to find the possible cause and treatment of AD as well as predictive biomarkers of the disease.
There is an existing popular notion that AD is due to deposition of amyloid plaque (abnormal protein clumping) and inflammation in the brain. New drugs have recently been developed based on this hypothesis and have garnered much press. No medicine, however, is available as a possible cure of AD based on the amyloid theory and all proposed new drugs may have significant deleterious side effects including brain haemorrhages.
Oxidative stress (OS) is another of the possible causative factors for AD. It is believed to play a major role and is related to the deficiency of the master antioxidant GSH and the increased metallic deposition of iron in the hippocampus (memory center) of the brain. This chemical imbalance results in uncontrolled release of free radicals which destroy the nerve cells in the hippocampus and result in the manifestations of AD.