(Medical XPress) — A Quebec research team has discovered two early plasma markers to detect Alzheimer’s disease five years before its onset. The results of this recent study led by the doctoral student Mohamed Raâfet Ben Khedher and postdoctoral student Mohamed Haddad, directed by Professor Charles Ramassamy of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), have been published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions (TRCI).
The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is usually based on a series of psychometric tests assessing cognitive function, brain imaging and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Yet, these tests have their limitations. “The lumbar puncture is invasive, while brain imaging is expensive and not 100% reliable. This complicates regular follow-up,” says Professor Ramassamy. (…)