According to American neurologists, a simple blood test can detect which patients are ill for severe motor neuron disease (ALS) up to 10 years before the appearance of symptoms. New findings from clinical research suggest that the disease is possible Detect blood testing for the presence of specific proteins contained in serum.
“We have always assumed that ALS is a rapidly progressive disease that begins 12 to 18 months before the discovery of symptoms. However, when we look at our findings, we see that this process takes about 10 years to see a doctor or clinic at all,” P “PHe wove the chief author of the study by Professor Alexander Pantelyat of Johns Hopkins University.
ALS, the most common form of motor neural disease, is a rare and incurable disease that affects the brain and nerves. Gradually, it deprives patients of the ability to move, eat and eventually breathe. About half of the patients live after the onset of symptoms for 2 to 5 years. The authors of the study published in Nature Medicine, analyzed blood samples from 281 patients with ALS and 258 healthy participants from the Turin University and the National Institute of Health. Scientists have identified a total of 2,886 ALS proteins.
With machine learning, these proteins were compared to blood samples from 137 patients with other neurological diseases. As a result, scientists were able to identify 33 proteins as a unique molecular signaling of ALS, allowing to distinguish this disease from healthy individuals and other neurological diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. “It is essential that patients and their families can distinguish ALS from other diseases – for a clear diagnosis, prognosis and the possibility of participation in clinical studies,” added Professor Pantelyat.
