""We need to find the best ways of understanding and identifying individuals who may be at risk,""
""can provide a snapshot of what's happening in the brain, even up to 20 years before symptoms manifest""
""Everyone just went: 'No, no, no, we don't talk about it because they're too difficult to do'.""
""cracking the code""
Tau tangles inside neurons and amyloid plaques between neurons are central hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Brain scans and spinal taps detect these abnormalities but are invasive. A blood test targeting phosphorylated tau (p-tau181) offers a less invasive option and the potential to detect disease-related changes decades before symptoms arise. Screening many antibodies revealed that the left-end fragment of tau is the predominant form detectable in blood, not the central fragment targeted by spinal-fluid assays. Designing antibodies to bind that left portion enabled sensitive blood detection, overcoming early skepticism about blood-based biomarkers.
Read at Nature
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