Daijiworld Media Network – San Antonio

San Antonio, Nov 11: In a major medical breakthrough, scientists have found that a simple blood test could help detect the risk of Alzheimer’s disease long before symptoms appear. The study, published in the journal Neurology, was co-led by researchers at The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Health San Antonio, and the New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

The research suggests that platelet activity — a measure of how blood cells clump together — could serve as an early warning sign for Alzheimer’s. “We believe that since platelets are easy to obtain in the blood, they could eventually become part of midlife screening to identify people at risk and apply preventive interventions targeting platelet-related inflammation,” said Dr Sudha Seshadri, senior author and founding director of the Biggs Institute.

The study analysed 382 dementia-free adults from the Framingham Heart Study, with an average age of 56. Using blood tests and brain imaging, the researchers found that people with higher platelet aggregation showed increased levels of amyloid and tau — two proteins closely linked to Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease affects over seven million Americans and remains a leading cause of death and disability among older adults. While the vascular component of the disease has been recognised for decades, this research provides new insight into how blood vessel dysfunction and inflammation may trigger early brain changes.

“Our study underscores the need to further clarify the role of platelet-mediated inflammation in brain ageing disorders,” said Dr Jaime Ramos-Cejudo of NYU. “This may open new opportunities for interventions many years before symptoms are evident.”

If validated in larger studies, the test could become a simple, affordable tool for early Alzheimer’s screening, giving doctors a critical window for prevention and treatment before irreversible damage begins.