Sugar molecule blood test predicts Alzheimer's disease early.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that blood levels of glycans, structures made up of sugar molecules that are associated with tau levels in the brain, are altered in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The level of a certain glycan structure in blood, denoted bisected N-acetylglucosamine, can be used to predict the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. A simple statistical model that takes into account blood glycan and tau levels, the risk gene APOE4, and a memory test can be used to predict Alzheimer’s disease to a reliability of 80% almost a decade before symptoms such as memory loss appear.