As rates of Alzheimer’s diagnoses continue to rise, researchers are searching for effective ways to detect the disease early in patients. A neuroscience graduate student at the University of Alberta says he’s identified a simple way to screen for early stages of the disease: by analyzing a patient’s saliva. The researcher, Shraddha Sapkota, presented his findings this week at the annual Alzheimer’s Association Conference in Washington, D.C.
For the study, saliva samples were analyzed with a special technology designed to measure protein levels. Results from each sample were then matched with patients’ medical records. Some of the patients had already received a diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment. The analysis showed a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment correlated with higher levels of certain proteins in saliva. It indicates that elevated protein levels may be predictors for the condition, even in its earliest stage.
Currently, doctors screen patients for Alzheimer’s disease through a number of tests. Unfortunately, many of the screening options are unreliable, costly or invasive. Written tests that evaluate executive memory and cognitive function aren’t always effective for distinguishing early-stage forms of the disease. Medical imaging tests such as MRIs—used to identify the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain—are costly. Spinal taps that can detect high levels of certain proteins in cerebrospinal fluid can be risky for elderly and frail patients.
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More research is needed to assess the potential for this test, but it could solve some of the challenges physicians face. Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease is key: Starting medications before the disease has progressed has been known to preserve cognitive function in patients. Some research suggests that patients will have the best outcomes if they start medications before any of symptoms of the disease begin to manifest. But to do so, physicians need an easy and reliable way to identify those patients.