Levels of specific microRNAs show danger for cognitive decrease.
Researchers at the DZNE and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) have identified molecules in the blood that can show impending dementia. The method is not yet ideal for useful usage; the scientists therefore aim to develop an easy blood test that can be applied in routine medical care to examine dementia threat. According to the study information, microRNAs might potentially likewise be targets for dementia therapy.
” When symptoms of dementia manifest, the brain has actually currently been massively damaged. Currently, diagnosis occurs far too late to even have a chance for efficient treatment. If dementia is found early, the chances of favorably influencing the course of the disease increase,” states André Fischer, research group leader and spokesperson at the DZNE site in Göttingen and teacher at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at UMG. “We need tests that preferably respond prior to the onset of dementia and reliably approximate the risk of later illness. To put it simply, tests that offer an early warning. We are confident that our existing study results lead the way for such tests.”
Molecular Signature
The biomarker that Fischer and his associates have found is based upon determining so-called microRNAs in the blood. MicroRNAs are molecules with regulatory homes: they influence the production of proteins and therefore an essential process in the metabolic process of every living being. “There are various microRNAs and each of them can control entire networks of interdependent proteins and thus influence complicated processes in the organism. So, microRNAs have a broad effect. We wished to find out whether there are specific microRNAs whose presence in the blood correlates with mental physical fitness,” Fischer states.
Through comprehensive studies in people, mice, and cell cultures, the researchers ultimately recognized 3 microRNAs whose levels were associated with mental performance. For this, they analyzed information from both young, cognitively regular individuals and from senior people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). For the information from healthy people, the Göttingen researchers worked together with Munich University Hospital. The data from MCI patients originated from a DZNE research study that has actually been running for years and includes university clinics throughout Germany.
Omens of Dementia
In the end, the numerous findings came together like pieces of a puzzle: In healthy individuals, levels of microRNAs correlated with mental fitness. In mice, in turn, this score increased even prior to the rodents started to show mental decrease– regardless of whether this was due to age or due to the fact that they established signs comparable to those of Alzheimers dementia. “We therefore see an increased blood level of these three microRNAs as a precursor of dementia,” Fischer says.
Potential Targets for Therapy
In their research studies on mice and cell cultures, the researchers also found that the 3 determined microRNAs affect inflammatory processes in the brain and “neuroplasticity” which includes the capability of neurons to establish connections with each other. This recommends that the three microRNAs are more than caution signals. “Indeed, we see in mice that learning capability enhances when these microRNAs are blocked with drugs.
Application in Routine Care
The novel marker still requires further testing; additionally, the existing measurement procedure is too complicated for practical usage: “In additional research studies, we aim to validate this biomarker medically. In addition, we intend to develop an easy test treatment for point-of-care screening,” states Fischer. “Our goal is to have an inexpensive test, comparable to the rapid test for SARS-CoV-2 with the distinction that for our purposes, you would require a drop of blood. Such a test could be used throughout regular examinations in doctors practices to identify an elevates danger of dementia early on. Individuals with suspicious results might then go through more sophisticated diagnostics.”
Reference: “A microRNA-signature that correlates with cognition and is a target against cognitive decrease” by Rezaul Islam, Lalit Kaurani et al., 11 October 2021, EMBO Molecular Medicine.DOI: 10.15252/ emmm.202013659.
According to the study information, microRNAs might potentially likewise be targets for dementia therapy.
The biomarker that Fischer and his associates have actually found is based on measuring so-called microRNAs in the blood. We wanted to find out whether there are specific microRNAs whose presence in the blood associates with mental fitness,” Fischer states.
Through extensive studies in human beings, mice, and cell cultures, the researchers eventually identified 3 microRNAs whose levels were associated with psychological performance. “We for that reason see an increased blood level of these three microRNAs as a harbinger of dementia,” Fischer says.