A research group of the University of Tsukuba and MCBI Co., Ltd. has discovered a protein that is a biomarker for mild cognitive impairment.
It is said that about 40% of mild cognitive impairment develops dementia after 4 years, and among them, patients with Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for 60 to 80% of dementia, will continue to increase as the aging society progresses if nothing is done. Is expected to follow.
The development of Alzheimer's disease involves the accumulation of amyloid β protein (Aβ) in the brain.Under normal conditions, Aβ produced in the brain is excreted into the blood, but when Aβ accumulates in the brain due to this decrease in Aβ clearance, it causes the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
Three proteins, apolipoprotein (ApoA-1), transthyretin (TTR), and complement protein (C3), are involved in Aβ clearance, and a decrease in these amounts leads to a decrease in Aβ clearance.Therefore, in this study, we investigated the usefulness of these proteins as biomarkers for mild cognitive impairment, which is the precursor stage of Alzheimer's disease.
As a result, blood levels of ApoA-1, TTR, and C3 correlated with changes in brain imaging such as cognitive decline and cerebral blood flow decline and cerebral atrophy in mild cognitive impairment.From this, it was found that these proteins are effective biomarkers for evaluating cognitive decline.
Monitoring the amount of these proteins in the blood from an early stage before onset may lead to effective prevention of dementia.It is said that the mild cognitive impairment screening test for the three proteins used in this study has already been put into practical use by MCBI Co., Ltd., and it is expected that it will be used as a blood test for the prevention of dementia in the future. NS.
