Those worried that they may develop dementia or Alzheimer’s have some options for catching their brain decline before it is too late. According to experts, a new blood test can detect early changes that lead to cognitive impairments.

As reported in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia, the test looks at a protein that can play a role in the ability of drugs, nutrients, water, and other substances to pass through the walls of a blood vessel. Higher levels of this protein, placental growth factor (PlGF), could be a warning sign for a possible decline in brain function.

“PlGF could be used as a cost-effective screening tool for identifying patients at risk for vascular brain injury before the insidious onset of cognitive decline,” Dr. Kyle Kern, lead researcher and vascular neurologist at UCLA Health, said in a university news release.

“As a simple blood test, such a tool would be valuable not only for patients and clinicians but also for researchers identifying patients for clinical trials,” Kern added.

Researchers have long known that leaky blood vessels, which allow fluid and inflammatory biochemicals to seep into brain tissue are key drivers of cognitive decline and dementia.

However, at present the condition is only recognised with the help of MRI scans, which catch it after the damage has already been done.

For this research, scientists said they analyzed blood samples and MRI scans from 370 seniors with an average age of 72 years. According to the study results, higher PIGF levels have been associated with more water in the brain and more changes in white matter that are linked to increased ageing of the brain.

Evidence also suggests that people with these brain changes scored lower on cognitive testing.

Early detection of brain changes is related to dementia, which allows doctors to develop and apply treatments that could protect brain health. “Ideally, PlGF could be used to screen younger populations for whom currently available treatments and lifestyle modifications may prevent or reverse the deleterious effects of vascular injury before the onset of cognitive dysfunction,” researchers noted.

However, they added that more research is needed to make sure PIGF is a solid means of predicting dementia.

According to experts, dementia is a description of the state of a person’s mental function and not a specific disease. The condition entails a decline in mental function from a previously higher level that is severe enough to interfere with daily living.

A person with dementia has two or more of these specific difficulties, including a decline in:

• Memory
• Reasoning
• Language
• Coordination
• Mood
• Behaviour

Dementia develops when the parts of your brain involved with learning, memory, decision-making, or language are affected by infections or diseases. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.

Memory loss alone does not necessarily confirm a diagnosis of dementia. While it is true that some of the memory changes are normal as a person ages, it is not fully disabling.

Dementia interferes with your ability to function. Dementia isn’t forgetting where you left your keys. A person with dementia can have situations like forgetting what keys are used for. Dementia isn’t a normal part of ageing.

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