Simple blood test that is able to identify whether you are quickly developing a serious Alzheimer’s

A simple blood test can see which patients will soon develop a severe Alzheimer’s, a study reveals today.

Identifying those with mild cognitive impairment that will most likely undergo an accelerated decline can enable them to enter clinical tests and get extra support, researchers say.

Neurologists tested 315 non-diabetic patients with cognitive deficits, including 200 with Alzheimer’s disease, on resistance to insulin-a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.

This was assessed with the help of the triglyceride glucose (TYG) index.

Among those with a mild cognitive disorders due to Alzheimer’s, people with the highest TYG scores fell four times faster during the three-year follow-up period than with lower TYG levels.

Researchers suggest that insulin resistance, which is already linked at the start of the Alzheimer’s, can speed up progression by reducing glucose in the brain, promoting inflammation and disturbing the blood-brain barrier.

It can also contribute to the structure of amyloid, a toxic protein, in the brains of the patients of Alzheimer’s.

The scientists from the University of Brescia, Italy, also discovered that high TYG was associated with blood-brain barrier disturbance and cardiovascular risk factors.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause fear, confusion and memory loss in the short term

But they found no connection between high TYG and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Their studies will be presented today at the European Academy of Neurology Congressin Helsinki.

Main researcher Dr. Bianca Gumina said: ‘As soon as a mild cognitive disorders are diagnosed, families always ask how quickly it will progress.

“Our data shows that a simple metabolic marker is available in every hospital laboratory can helps to identify more vulnerable topics that can be contagious candidates for targeted therapy or specific intervention strategies.”