Charity reveals Alzheimer’s link between blood molecules and cold temperatures

A new study has revealed that molecules found in blood that are created from cholesterol could be linked to an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to research conducted by King’s College London.

The study was commission by the Alzheimer’s Society and researchers tested 124 blood samples including those of people with Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment, the results revealed an almost 80 per cent success rate in predicting Alzheimer’s.

Director of Research and Development at Alzheimer’s Society, Dr Doug Brown, said: “Finding a way to detect Alzheimer’s before the disease takes hold would provide a huge step forward in the way we carry out research into the condition. This interesting study identifies a number of molecules connected to cholesterol which weren’t previously thought to be linked to Alzheimer’s and could be another piece in the jigsaw of helping us understand the condition.”

The researchers identified that 6 out of 10 molecules found and tested were a by-product of cholesterol in the body, however of those 10 molecules researchers were able to predict Alzheimer’s with an accuracy of 79 per cent. Six of the ten molecules identified were by-products created when cholesterol was broken down in the body however there was direct link found between cholesterol in the blood and cases of Alzheimer’s. Dr Brown added: “While this vital research could open new avenues to find treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, the link between these molecules and dementia isn’t accurate enough to be used as a test. The Alzheimer’s Society has committed at least £100m to dementia research over the next decade and we need to see even more investment into research like this to help identify people at risk of dementia early on in order to develop treatments which could stop the condition in its tracks.”

The research has revealed for the first time, these molecules being linked with Alzheimer’s disease and has provided important information on the ways in which the body breaks down cholesterol and could encourage new research into drug treatments for Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s Society Research Fellow, Dr Petroula Proitsi, at the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London, worked on the study and said: “The results of this study are very interesting as the identified metabolites are biochemically related to metabolites previously shown to be associated with Alzheimer’s. It will be very interesting to see whether changes in these metabolites are also associated with disease initiation and progression.

“However, we would like to stress that these findings need to be expanded and replicated in larger cohorts. The false positive rate of 23.1 per cent would mean that using these molecules for diagnosis would see nearly a quarter of healthy people wrongly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

“This highlights that these molecules cannot be used for diagnostic purposes and that the important message from this study is the identification of new interesting lipid molecules to be associated with Alzheimer’s disease.” Further research conducted by the Medical Research Council’s Toxicology Unit has revealed a protein that is activated in the body as a response to cold temperature, can prevent lost connections between brain cells in neuro degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Professor Giovanna Mallucci and her colleagues investigated the implications of reduced body temperatures and the impact that this has on protecting the brain from damage and found a protein involved in the process. The research could provide further opportunities to create new drug treatments.

The research team studied the brain’s response to extreme cooling which is used as a protective process, similar to the effect seen in hibernating animals.

Dr Brown said: “We know that cooling body temperate can protect the brain from some forms of damage and this method is being investigated as a treatment for acute conditions such as strokes and brain injury. It’s interesting to see this protective mechanism now also being studied in neurodegenerative disease.

“While we don’t think body cooling is a feasible treatment for long-term, progressive conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, this research opens up the possibility of finding drugs that can have the same effect. We are very much looking forward to seeing this research taken forward to the next stage.”

The Alzheimer’s Society funds research into curing, preventing and the cause of dementia and has allocated £100 million to spend on dementia research during the next decade.