Researchers at the Emory Goizueta Brain Health Institute, along with partner institutions, have identified new blood proteins that may help explain the development of Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on memory. The findings, published in Nature Aging, involved analyzing blood samples from over 2,100 individuals across four major research cohorts. Scientists used advanced techniques to measure thousands of proteins in the blood and connected these measurements to changes in brain function and cognition.
Traditionally, Alzheimer’s research has focused on amyloid plaques in the brain as a key feature of the disease. However, this study found that other biological processes are also involved. Proteins linked to immune response, protein disposal systems, energy metabolism, and the extracellular matrix were associated with memory and cognitive decline.
The researchers noted that not all observed changes could be explained by established Alzheimer’s pathology in the brain. This suggests that factors outside the brain—such as those occurring in blood or other organs—may influence both risk for Alzheimer’s and how quickly it progresses.
“Many of the proteins we found in blood are not directly tied to what we see in the brain after death,” said Erik Johnson, MD, PhD, senior author and physician-researcher at Emory’s Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. “This means that what’s happening in the rest of the body could play a role in Alzheimer’s risk and how fast the disease progresses.”
The study indicates potential for developing new treatments targeting these blood-based pathways rather than focusing solely on delivering drugs into the brain.
“This study advances our understanding of proteins in the blood that change with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Allan Levey, MD, PhD, executive director of the Goizueta Institute at Emory. “This work is foundational to the development of blood tests for detecting different pathologies that occur in the brain along with amyloid plaques, and for clinical translation.”
Researchers say these results support using blood tests as a less invasive method to monitor and study Alzheimer’s disease moving forward.
Participants came from Emory University studies as well as national projects such as Bio-Hermes and ROSMAP (Religious Orders Study and Rush Memory and Aging Project). The work received support from organizations including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation, and Gates Ventures.
