New research from Johns Hopkins University has identified a variety of biomarkers that can be used to predict the onset of Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms appear. The study presents nine measures, produced from several decades of data, that can signal the onset of the disease up to 30 years before cognitive decline becomes apparent.
Many researchers believe the preclinical phase of Alzheimer’s can commence over a decade before the disease becomes clinically visible. As a vast number of prospective Alzheimer’s drugs have failed in clinical trials, it is hypothesized that the disease may be best treated in this preclinical stage, before any neurodegeneration progresses to the point of major cognitive decline.
Unfortunately, we do not have any clear diagnostic framework to identify the disease at its earliest stage. Blood tests, PET scans, eye tests, genetics, and even sniff tests, are all being investigated as ways to identify the earliest stages of cognitive decline, but no single biomarker has been wholly confirmed as clinically reliable so far.