A Protein Ratio Could Predict Alzheimer’s Disease Progression Decades in Advance

Originally written by Sahana Sitaraman, PhD,  at The Sicentist, on March 31, 2025

Current biomarkers of cognitive impairment in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease perform poorly. Now, a stronger predictor emerges.

 
Using data from more than 3000 people, researchers have described a new and more robust protein biomarker to predict cognitive impairment in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. ©istock, wildpixel

In 1906, a 50-year-old woman in Germany died of a mysterious illness. Before her death, she presented with a combination of symptoms that stumped doctors—progressive memory loss, paranoia, confusion, and aggression. A closer look into her brain post-mortem revealed abnormal clumps and tangled bundles of fibers. This was the first documented case of Alzheimer’s disease, described in detail by Alois Alzheimer, a clinical psychiatrist and neuroanatomist.1 His characterization of the disease pathology is still used for diagnosis of this neurodegenerative disorder. Scientists now know that the clumps are plaques formed by the protein fragment amyloid-beta (Aβ) and the tangles are abnormal accumulations of the protein tau within neurons. 

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