Alzheimer’s sneaks in quietly – but when does it really start?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Scientists have long known that Alzheimer’s unfolds slowly. But tracking it? Tricky – until now.
Enter Laia Montoliu-Gaya and team at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. They compared levels of the Alzheimer’s protein tau in blood samples from two groups of volunteers. The question: do certain tau signals appear earlier or later in the disease?
They built a model that sorted people into stages of disease. This suggests that blood tests could help doctors and patients follow Alzheimer’s in a more affordable and accessible way.
And that’s Alz-right with me!.. Ain’t I a wizenheimer?
Reference: Montoliu-Gaya, L., Salvadó, G., Therriault, J., Nilsson, J., Janelidze, S., Weiner, S., Ashton, N. J., Benedet, A. L., Rahmouni, N., Lantero-Rodriguez, J., Mattsson-Carlgren, N., Palmqvist, S., Brinkmalm, G., Stomrud, E., Zetterberg, H., Gobom, J., Rosa-Neto, P., Blennow, K. & Hansson, O. (2025). Plasma tau biomarkers for biological staging of Alzheimer’s disease. Nature Aging. Published 22 August 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-00951-w