From July 16-19 (local time), Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC), the world’s largest dementia research conference, was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. At this prestigious event, Prof. Shen Lu, Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (CSU), was invited to give a lecture entitled “Specific serum autoantibodies predict the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease with high accuracy” at the “Novel fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease” session. Her presentation showcased the remarkable breakthrough outcomes achieved by her team in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and autoimmunity, captivating the attention of global peers. The study was the first to identify a set of serum autoantibody markers that can effectively identify AD and accurately predict disease progression. This discovery was based on an extensive examination of 1,686 subjects across four large-scale cohorts. The findings sparked widespread interest and robust discussions among the conference participants, which had the potential to provide new methods and strategies for the early diagnosis of AD.

Prof. Shen Lu pointed out that the existing early diagnosis markers of AD include Aβ42 and p-tau in CSF, PiB or tau detected by PET, etc. However, samples are hard to collect for the former set where invasive examination is necessary, while the latter ones are expensive and require certain qualifications, both of which have not been widely used in the early diagnosis of AD.This has hindered their widespread use in clinical practice. As a result, the search for biomarkers that are easy to collect and cost-effective remains a key focus in AD research.

Prof. Shen Lu has long been committed to the early diagnosis and clinical translational research of AD.The research team have been dedicated to AD biomarker research since 2013. After almost a decade of efforts, they have made a significant breakthrough in identifying a group of serum autoantibodies that can cross the blood-brain barrier and be detected in peripheral blood. Through repeated verification, optimization, and integration, the joint detection of seven specific serum autoantibodies was found to be effective in identifying AD.At present, relevant patents such as "Protein antigen combination for Alzheimer's disease autoantibody detection and its application" have obtained Chinese National Invention Patent Authorization. Moreover, the product is undergoing special review procedures by the Hunan Provincial Drug Administration (HMPA [2019] No. 10) for registration, inspection, and approval.Prof. Shen Lu also pointed out that Xiangya Hospital currently is taking the lead to carry out multi-center clinical validation. The research not only provided a promising approach for early diagnosis but also opened up new possibilities for targeted treatments for AD.

After the conference, experts and scholars from various countries, including the U.S., Australia, Spain, Sweden, Japan, discussed the relevant results and follow-up research with Prof. Shen Lu. They showed a strong collaboration intention to verify the product with different ethnic groups after optimization and stabilization. It is expected that China’s first serum autoantibody-based kit for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease will be promoted and applied worldwide.