A new Alzheimer's blood test that promises to detect the disease years before symptoms develop has won support, but some experts have urged caution over its wider use.
The blood test measures levels of a protein called p-tau217, which signals changes in the brain associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease that begins up to 15 years before symptoms start.
The effectiveness of the test was described in the Jama Neurology journal as “accurate” for diagnosing people with suspected Alzheimer's disease, which is responsible for between 60 per cent to 80 per cent of dementia cases.
It’s a step forward [but] it might not be, at the moment, transformative
Prof Paul Morgan,
UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University in the UK
“The blood test is sensitive enough to detect changes at the time – before the real big changes in thinking occur – when treatment might be able to halt or reverse the progression [of the disease],” said Prof Paul Matthews, associate director of the UK Dementia Research Institute.
Prof Matthews, who works at Imperial College London, said that the blood test could potentially be used to screen large numbers of people to determine who might need to be given the next generation of Alzheimer’s disease treatments.
“If we could do this for everyone at 50 or 65, we could detect who is really at high risk. In a perfect world, when we have a treatment that could be deployed, these people could be treated to prevent the disease,” he said.
Dr Ivan Koychev, a senior clinical researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, described the new study as the latest in a series that has shown that blood biomarkers “are becoming very promising in terms of being able to detect whether someone has Alzheimer’s disease pathology”.
This means that the person has biological characteristics associated with the disease, although they may not necessarily have symptoms.
“They have shown the blood biomarkers are as good at identifying people with Alzheimer’s disease pathology as more expensive and more invasive tests, like lumbar puncture,” he said.
A lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap, involves a needle being inserted into the lower back to remove fluid, which can then undergo laboratory testing.
Also, brain scans may be used to look for the build-up of amyloid plaques, which are protein aggregations associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
However, Prof Paul Morgan, of the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University in the UK, cautioned that while the new test may help to identify those at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, there were still limited treatment options available to treat them.
“It’s a step forward [but] it might not be, at the moment, transformative,” he said.
He added that identifying people at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease could be useful for selecting people for clinical trials, which could aid the development of new treatments.
If clinical trials involve only people at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, it increases the chance that they will be able to detect whether drugs are effective or not than if trial participants are drawn from the general population.
Prof Morgan said that the new blood test appeared to be more straightforward than other Alzheimer’s disease pathology blood tests, which may involve “several different measures and you mix them up to get a good prediction”.
Watch: How a three-minute iPad test could diagnose dementia
In recent years, a number of drugs have been approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and, unlike previous-generation medication, are able to combat the underlying pathology, or biological changes associated with the disease, rather than managing the systems.
These amyloid-clearance therapies have been shown to have some effect in clearing amyloid plaques, which are protein aggregations linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
In clinical trials, one drug – Leqembi or Lecanemab – slowed the progression of symptoms in slightly more than a quarter of patients who were in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Hope for further treatments
Treatments have yet to be developed that could actually stop or reverse the disease’s progression, or that could prevent the onset of symptoms in people who have yet to develop the disease.
However, given the progress made with Alzheimer’s disease drugs in recent years, despite decades of false starts, some researchers are hopeful that such more advanced therapies could be developed in future.
Involving 786 participants, the recently published study found that the new blood test, which looks for the p-tau217 protein, was highly accurate at identifying elevated levels of beta amyloid and at identifying pathologies linked to the build-up of another protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease, tau.
Beta amyloid accumulates in patients’ brains for as long as two decades before Alzheimer’s disease symptoms become apparent, so detecting it early – and potentially starting preventive treatments, should they become available in future – may offer benefits.
Exploring a 'prickly issue'
Rob Howard, professor of old age psychiatry at University College London, described the use of blood tests such as the one analysed in the new study as “such a complicated and prickly issue”.
A key concern of his is that many people who have evidence of Alzheimer’s disease pathology will never develop symptoms.
“This test has the potential for causing a lot of concern for people who take the blood test and haven’t got any symptoms and become anxious,” he said.
He said such people may be at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, but will not necessarily go on to have the condition.
As a result, there are pitfalls associated with tests being made available commercially, he said.
“I’m concerned. People will turn up very, very worried with the test that shows they’ve got the pathology,” he said.
“If people are worried, there’s no substitute for going to their doctor and having a proper consultation and examination organised.”
He said the test would be best used on patients who already have dementia as it allows doctors to determine whether Alzheimer's disease is the cause of their symptoms.
Having tests that identify people who may not go on to become ill is something seen with other conditions, Dr Koychev said, giving the example of prostate cancer.
With this condition, a blood test called PSA can identify cases that are not likely to be harmful to the patient, sometimes leading to what is termed overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatments. The PSA test also has the drawback of missing some cases that do prove to be harmful.
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Color%20Purple
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Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
Company%20profile
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Fixture: Liechtenstein v Italy, Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match is shown on BeIN Sports
The biog
Age: 32
Qualifications: Diploma in engineering from TSI Technical Institute, bachelor’s degree in accounting from Dubai’s Al Ghurair University, master’s degree in human resources from Abu Dhabi University, currently third years PHD in strategy of human resources.
Favourite mountain range: The Himalayas
Favourite experience: Two months trekking in Alaska
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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More from Aya Iskandarani
Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
AT%20A%20GLANCE
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
Selected fixtures
All times UAE
Wednesday
Poland v Portugal 10.45pm
Russia v Sweden 10.45pm
Friday
Belgium v Switzerland 10.45pm
Croatia v England 10.45pm
Saturday
Netherlands v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Denmark 10.45pm
Sunday
Poland v Italy 10.45pm
Monday
Spain v England 10.45pm
Tuesday
France v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Wales 10.45pm
The Internet
Hive Mind
four stars
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
ARM%20IPO%20DETAILS
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The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Kandahar%20
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
