Small amounts of the protein found in those with Alzheimer’s disease can be detected years before it shows up in brain scans of those with the disease, new research published Monday in Nature Medicine found.
The test was developed at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
“Our test identifies very early stages of tau tangle formation — up to a decade before any tau clumps can show up on a brain scan,” said senior author Thomas Karikari, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Pitt, in a statement.
Early detection is a key to treating the disease with new treatments, Karikari said.
Medications that slow the onset of Alzheimer’s have showed promise in slowing progression of the disease.
The news comes as other research shows about a million Americans a year are expected to develop dementia by 2060, roughly double today’s toll.
That estimate is based on a study published in January that found a higher lifetime risk than previously thought: After age 55, people have up to a 4 in 10 chance of eventually developing dementia — if they live long enough.
