“Dementia Biomarker Discovery Through Differential Immune Response Analysis”

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and it is estimated that 13.5 million people will be living with AD by 2050. AD begins years to decades before any symptoms begin to first appear in most patients which calls for the need of diagnostic tools that allow early detection. The goal of this research was to test and compare the immunological responses between individuals with dementia and healthy individuals by means of antibody immunoprecipitation and computational analyses. Phage display was performed to isolate the DNA of phages that bind to the antibodies in human serum from both dementia and healthy individuals. The isolated phage DNA was sequenced by NGS. Bioinformatics was performed to find a differential immunological response between dementia patients and healthy individuals to possibly discover a biomarker for early detection of AD. Early detection of AD can allow for better treatment opportunities before progression of cognitive degeneration.