Researchers from Ghent University in Belgium and ADNI analyzed data from more than 400 elderly people, of whom 114 had normal cognitive functions, 200 had mild cognitive impairment and 102 had Alzheimer’s disease. They identified a specific biological marker present in 90% of Alzheimer’s patients, 72% of people with mild cognitive impairment and 36% of people with normal cognitive functions.
After five years of follow-up, this marker allowed a 100% prediction of Alzheimer’s cases.
The fact that biomarkers are present in more than a third of subjects without cognitive impairment suggests that the disease is active and detectable even earlier than imagined. About 37 million people worldwide have dementia, mostly due to Alzheimer’s disease, according to the World Health Organization.
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