A recent study published on January 1 in the journal Science Translational Medicine announces an important advance concerning Alzheimer’s disease. During diagnosis, it is now impossible to predict the course of the disease. “One of the first things people want to know when they are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease is simply what the future holds for them or their loved ones,” says Dr. Gil Rabinovici, professor of neurology, in the press release accompanying the study. However, American researchers have made a discovery on this subject.
A state-of-the-art imaging system to monitor two important things
By studying two major disorders of the disease using a state-of-the-art imaging system called PET (positron emission tomography), the scientists concluded that it was possible to predict their evolution.
When a person has Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid plaques stick their neurons together. These are then destroyed by the Tau protein. It is by monitoring the latter that the researchers were able to predict the progression of the disease of the patients observed during the study.
“This study shows that in patients with the early clinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease, the quantity and distribution of Tau pathology can predict future brain atrophy. Tau imaging could therefore have a very important place in refining the prognosis of patients,” said researcher Renaud La Joie, first author of the study, to the Figaro.
This discovery concerning the Tau protein could also “help the development of future clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease” according to the researcher.
