Study finds group of molecules with ‘potential’ to improve diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

A research team from the Nutrition and Metabolic Health Group of the University of Rovira e Virgili (URV) in Tarragona found a group of molecules with “potential” to improve the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

The results of the study by URV and the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), published in the journal Cell & Bioscience, based on analysis of blood samples from 192 people with mild cognitive impairment and risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The results identified 15 small non-coding RNA molecules present in 85% of participants at higher risk of developing the disease. and will enable the most vulnerable patients to be diagnosed years in advance.

These molecules are short chains of nucleotides. that although they contain genetic information, they do not have the ability to encode proteins, the university emphasized.

The lead author of the study, Laia Guterres-Tordera, assured that These molecules “have the potential to improve the prognosis of Alzheimer’s disease and its early diagnosis.”

Currently Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed by clinical symptomswhich may be supplemented by neurological imaging tests and cerebrospinal fluid analysis via lumbar puncture.

The study shows that the introduction of RNA analysis into diagnostic methods will improve the quality of patient care by reducing the use of invasive procedures.