The impact of chemicals on late-onset Alzheimer's can be assessed using specific biomarkers.
What is it about?
This article explains how environmental chemicals further deteriorate aging processes towards late-onset Alzheimer's disease. It provides new information contributing to new diagnostics for identification of individuals at risk for progressing into Alzheimer's disease as well as novel targets for drug development.
Why is it important?
The underlying genetic information provides new biomarkers for diagnosis before clinical symptoms appear. A small pilot study suggests that such individuals can be identified at least 5 years earlier than the current diagnostic approaches. Furthermore, the genetic networks used to identify these biomarkers may also hide novel targets for the development of drugs addressing progression towards disease before the brain is irreversibly damaged.