Results of a Dutch study indicate molecular heterogeneity in Alzheimer’s disease and highlight the need for personalized medicine.
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Dutch researchers may have found the reason why treatments for Alzheimer’s disease seem to be poorly effective or even ineffective. The pathology presents five distinct biological variants, which differ at the level ofintegrityintegrity of the blood-brain barrier, nerve cell growth, protein synthesis, immune system function and amyloid production.
The most common hypothesis blames amyloid and tau, toxic proteins, for clumping together in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to these clusters, other biological processes such asinflammationinflammation and the growth of nerve cells are involved in the disease.
Researchers in the new study examined as many as 1,058 proteins in the cerebrospinal fluidcerebrospinal fluid of 419 people with clumps of amyloid and tau proteins. The research compared the results to 187 controls. In addition to the five molecular subtypes found, there are believed to be differences in other aspects of the disease. For example, researchers have seen a faster progression of Alzheimer’s in certain subgroups.
Towards personalized medicine?
The research represents progress in mattermatter of personalized medicine, because a given drug may not be suitable (or even harmful) for one variant and be very effective for another. “ Given the distinct patterns of molecular processes and risk profiles geneticgenetic of Alzheimer’s disease, it is likely that subtypes of this disease will require specific treatments », summarize the authors of the study published in the journal Nature Aging.
