Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease is difficult, with complete diagnosis only being possible with microscopic examination of the brain cells after death. This makes it difficult for people with Alzheimer’s to get the right treatment. The findings of a new study, which links the development of Alzheimer’s disease to circular RNAs, could change this for better.
The new research paper, which was published in the Nature Neuroscience journal, links specific loops of ribonucleic acid with the development of Alzheimer’s disease. These loops, which the study terms as ‘circular RNAs’ are also present in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood, apart from the brain. This makes it possible to get this condition diagnosed better. [1] [2]
Alzheimer’s disease is often not properly diagnosed. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
RNAs are known to be molecules that carry instructions from genes to create proteins. The team of researchers conducting this study analyzed complete RNAs in brain samples, and further compared non-Alzheimer’s disease circular RNAs to circular RNAs from samples which had Alzheimer’s disease.
The study results point towards the possibility of circular RNAs to be used as potential biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease, probably before even before the symptoms show up.
