Structural changes in blood plasma proteins may reflect earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease: Study

Key facts

• Analysis of blood plasma samples from over 500 individuals showed structural differences in three proteins are strongly linked to Alzheimer's status.
• The three proteins identified are C1QA involved in immune signalling, clusterin involved in protein folding and amyloid removal, and apolipoprotein B which transports fats in the bloodstream.
• The study was published in the Nature Aging journal and involved researchers including those at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), US.
• Structural changes of plasma proteins helped accurately distinguish cognitively normal individuals from those with Alzheimer's and mild cognitive impairment.
• Machine learning was used to identify patterns connected to disease stage based on how exposed or buried specific areas were in the three-dimensional amino acid chain.
• As Alzheimer's disease advanced, specific blood proteins became less structurally open, with structural changes proving more informative than measuring protein concentrations.