- These are frontotemporal dementia, a group of untreated diseases.
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| Frontotemporal dementias currently have no treatment, but several options are being investigated and it is believed that the chances of success are greater with early administration. / Pixabay |
A team of scientists from the Mayo Clinic (United States) and the ALLFTD Consortium (Advancing Research and Treatment in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration and Longitudinal Evaluation of Familial Frontotemporal Dementia Subjects) has identified a protein that can be used as a blood marker for a group of difficult-to-treat dementias.
As they explain in an article published in the Cell Reports medium, it is the neurofilament light chain, and it can specifically identify frontotemporal dementias. Thus, it could allow an early diagnosis that would advise patients to participate in clinical trials of early treatments, since this is currently the only therapeutic option.
An opportunity to seek early treatment
To find the marker, they undertook a large investigation of a cohort of more than 1,000 participants from three groups: healthy people with no genetic factors known to cause frontotemporal dementia, healthy people with genetic factors known to cause it, and patients with frontotemporal dementia.
Specifically, they took blood plasma samples from these people and measured the amount of neurofilament light chain in them.
Crossing these data with the stage of development of the disease, they found that the levels of this protein in plasma rose significantly before the disease began to be symptomatic and that they were higher as the disease became more severe.
In this way, it is possible to develop a diagnostic test that is capable of reliably detecting the disease even before it manifests itself symptomatically.
Frontotemporal dementias are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by a marked decrease in the size of the frontal and temporal lobes.
Some are included in this category, such as the behavioral variant, primary progressive aphasia, progressive supranuclear palsy, or corticobasal syndrome; In general, they have in common a symptom picture consisting of alterations in cognition, behavior, language, and movement.
Currently, there is no effective treatment for frontotemporal dementias, but several options are being investigated. As with other forms of dementia, treatments are thought to have a better chance if they are given early.