Finally, A Blood-Based ATN Panel for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s

Hi, my name is Dr. Charlie Annunziata, founder of ProCredits.

Five years ago, my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Through the age of 80, she was smart, fit, and vibrant, had a healthy diet, practiced yoga and Pilates, and was a voracious reader, yet her cognition declined rapidly after that age.  Although we noticed the changes, we failed to act quickly enough, and before we knew it, the time for effective treatment had passed.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease or AD is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that slowly damages brain cells, causing cognitive and memory impairment and eventually death. AD is characterized by a build-up of protein plaques and tangles made up of amyloid beta 42 and tau proteins. 

These biological changes disrupt typical neuronal function and cause neurodegeneration years before any symptoms are noticed by the patient. Continued neurodegeneration leads to observable memory and cognitive impairment symptoms characteristic of AD.

Finally, A Blood-Based ATN Panel for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s

Until recently, it has been difficult to identify the biological changes that indicate Alzheimer’s. The typical evaluation, which includes a physical exam, blood and urine tests, and cognitive testing may provide ambiguous or conflicting answers.

This can result in delayed referrals until symptoms become more obvious which is, often, too late. This is no longer the case. Labcorp developed a new blood biomarker test called the Amyloid-Tau-Neurodegeneration Profile (ATN Profile).

This simple blood test will help doctors detect evidence of biological changes consistent with Alzheimer’s.

The ATN Profile establishes a means for classifying biomarkers based on the biological evidence of Alzheimer’s disease by dividing these markers into three categories to reflect the three primary biological changes associated with Alzheimer’s:

• A for amyloid plaques: Accumulations of beta-amyloid 42 proteins begin to form plaques in the brain years before initial symptom onset;
• T for tau tangles: The beta-amyloid 42 accumulation causes misfolding of tau proteins, which tangle into knots and disrupt normal brain cell function;
• N for neurodegeneration: Brain cell functional impairment causes the cells to die, which exacerbates the characteristic cognitive impairment symptoms observed in Alzheimer’s patients.

The ATN profile was found to be extremely accurate with a sensitivity of 96% and specificity close to 87%. Click here for more information on the ATN Profile from Labcorp.

This test provides evidence of the biological changes that are consistent with Alzheimer’s disease and complements imaging and CSF analysis which creates the opportunity for early dietary and lifestyle changes.

In recent years, a significant amount of ground-breaking research has shed light on how the brain ages and the vital role that specific nutrition and supplement applications play in slowing brain aging.

Implementing these dietary changes reduces the risks of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease which significantly improves patient outcomes.

ProCredits’ Courses

ProCredits offers two courses discussing nutritional and lifestyle improvements to treat and prevent early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease:

Nutritional Medicine and the Aging Brain: Prevention and Management of Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease by James Meschino DC, MS, ROHP;

The Nutritional Approach to Improving Cognitive Function by Charles Annunziata DC, CFMP.

Evidence-Based Impact on Anti-aging and Disease Prevention by James Meschino DC, MS, ROHP

The ATN Profile and the peer-reviewed research on this important subject will provide you with concrete strategies to help your patients prevent these problems and reverse early-stage memory loss.

Go to procreditsce.com for these courses and our entire catalog of over 100 hours of courses in many other important subjects to better the Chiropractic profession.

Check out ProCredits’ Free course

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