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Chinese scientists use massive databank and AI to try to predict dementia 15 years before symptoms start

  • Team finds ‘important plasma biomarkers for future dementia prediction’, with algorithm playing a crucial role in research: professor
  • Researchers tapped into 50,000-strong UK Biobank cohort, 1,400 of whom developed dementia within 10 years of the initial data collection

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A data release from UK Databank gave a Chinese research team an “unprecedented opportunity” to study blood proteins associated with the development of dementia, according to a new paper. Photo: Shutterstock
Victoria Bela
Chinese scientists say they have made a major step towards predicting a patient’s risk of dementia up to a decade and a half before symptoms start by analysing a sample of their blood.

The scientists used a database of more than 50,000 people to identify proteins linked to a risk of developing different types of dementia, and with the help of AI the team created a predictive model to assess disease risk.

The use of artificial intelligence was “one of the key factors for the success of this research”, Yu Jintai, study author and neurology professor at the Fudan University-affiliated Huashan Hospital said.

Using the data-driven strategy, the scientists “innovatively identified important plasma biomarkers for future dementia prediction” the team wrote in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Ageing on Monday.

Blood tests for diagnosing types of dementia such as Alzheimer’s have been growing in popularity. From a single drop of blood they can determine whether a patient who has started showing symptoms has the disease.

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But scientists have bigger goals in mind for blood biomarker tools, such as using them to accurately predict whether a patient could develop the disease in future, even before they exhibit any clinical symptoms.

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