Blood Test Identifies Early Dementia Markers
New blood test uses gut microbiome markers for early dementia detection, achieving over 80% accuracy in identifying mild cognitive impairment.
Ayla Demirhan ·
A new blood test has been developed to identify early indicators of dementia by analyzing gut microbiome changes. This method focuses on specific metabolites produced by gut bacteria and diet.
Researchers analyzed blood and stool samples from 150 adults, identifying 33 key microbe-derived metabolites. An AI model, using six of these metabolites, classified individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from healthy adults with over 80% accuracy.
This development suggests a potential for less invasive and more accessible early diagnostic tools for cognitive decline. The findings support the growing understanding of the gut-brain axis's role in cognitive aging.
Further research is required to validate these findings in larger, more diverse populations. This will determine if these markers can reliably predict dementia development.