NEWS BRIEFING: Towards a blood test for Alzheimer's disease

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2018-02-01 05:00

Australia; VIC; QLD; WA

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**BRIEFING RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE** An international team, including Australians, has identified biological markers in blood plasma that indicate the extent of buildup of the protein amyloid beta in the brain – the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Although the work is at an early stage, it could potentially lead to a blood test for Alzheimer’s, which would be revolutionary; at present, diagnosis is costly and inconvenient. The new technique was tested on two groups of patients - 252 Australian and 121 Japanese. The scientists say the ratios of the different amyloid-beta-associated protein fragments and a composite score can accurately predict the level of amyloid-beta build-up in the brain. Join us for this online media briefing, when one of the Australian scientists behind the work will explain the findings.

Media release

From: Australian Science Media Centre

Speaker:

Professor Colin Masters is Laureate Professor of Neuroscience at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Date: Wed 31 Jan 2018
Start Time: 11:00am AEDT
Duration: Approx 45 min
Venue: Online

Multimedia

Professor Colin Masters

Visual abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) image of a brain with Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's background video

Mechanisms and secrets of Alzheimer's disease exploring the brain

B-roll footage of MRI brain scans - please don't use sound

Brain slice footage

Rotating cut-away

PET scan of an Alzhiemers' brain

PET scan of brain with amyloid accumulation over 30-year period

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research Springer Nature, Web page The url will go live after the embargo ends

Video Australian Science Media Centre, Web page Briefing recording

Journal/
conference: Nature

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Edith Cowan University, CSIRO

Funder: The Research Funding for Longevity Sciences from the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Alzheimer’s Association (US), the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, an anonymous foundation, the Cooperative Research Centre for Mental Health, CSIRO Science and Industry Endowment Fund, the Dementia Collaborative Research Centres, the Victorian Government Operational Infrastructure Support program, the McCusker Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Yulgilbar Foundation.

Media Contact/s

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