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Scientists discover common pathways for the development of neurodegenerative diseases in blood plasma
Last reviewed: 27.07.2025
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Scientists know that many proteins and molecular pathways are involved in the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and that these proteins can be detected in the blood plasma of people with these diseases.
However, until now it was unclear which proteins were specific to only one disease and which were common to two or more, making it difficult to both diagnose these complex diseases from blood samples and develop effective treatments.
A new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and published in Nature Medicine provides some answers. Led by Carlos Cruchagi, a professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Neurogenomics and Informatics at WashU Medicine, the researchers analyzed protein activity in more than 10,500 plasma samples from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or FTD.
By examining plasma proteins in all three diseases in the new study, the team — which also included Muhammad Ali, an assistant professor of psychiatry at WashU Medicine and the paper's first author — was able to create and test models that predict the risk of each disease based on abnormalities in the regulation of specific proteins.
In total, they identified 5,187 proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease, 3,748 with Parkinson's disease, and 2,380 with FTD, including a number of proteins that had not previously been linked to neurodegenerative diseases.
They also found that more than 1,000 proteins were associated with all three diseases — a surprisingly large number, Kruchagi said. These shared proteins point to common processes and functions, mostly related to energy production and immune response, that could be used in the future to treat neurodegenerative diseases in general.
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and FTD are known for overlapping in both symptoms and pathological features, Kruchagi noted. However, most studies of the proteins and biomarkers involved in these diseases have focused on one specific condition, making it difficult to determine their similarities and differences. Studying and comparing the “protein landscape” of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and FTD together has proven key to identifying both common and specific disease mechanisms.
The current study builds on previous work by Kruchagi and his team, in which they identified more than 400 plasma proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease. The new findings, Kruchagi says, could help doctors diagnose difficult cases or detect neurodegenerative diseases earlier.