First Detection of Pregnancy Protein in Older People Destined for Alzheimer's Disease, Journal of Proteome Research Reveals

In an advance toward a much-needed early diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease (AD), scientists have discovered that older women destined to develop AD have high blood levels of a protein linked to pregnancy years before showing symptoms. Their report appears in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research. Theo Luider and colleagues explain that more than 26 million people worldwide already have AD, and the numbers are rising with the graying of the population. Doctors can prescribe any of several drugs to slow the disease's advance. But it is important to start treatment as early as possible. Unfortunately, however, no test exists to diagnose patients before obvious memory loss and other symptoms appear. Luider's team decided to look for proteins in the blood that might be used in such a test.

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