A groundbreaking study (view below) has found that analyzing proteins in your blood could predict over 60 different diseases with incredible accuracy, including conditions like celiac disease, cancer, and dementia. This new test, which uses a single blood sample to spot disease markers, is proving more precise than current methods for 52 out of 67 diseases. By examining thousands of proteins, researchers can forecast health risks up to ten years in advance, potentially transforming how we screen and diagnose illnesses. Imagine a future where a simple blood test could reveal your risk for serious diseases long before symptoms even appear!

A study released on Monday indicates that more than 60 diseases can be identified solely by examining the proteins in the blood.

Compared to conventional clinical tests, these proteins yielded better accurate predictions for 52 out of 67 disorders reports Marina Zhang from The Epoch Times.

“Measuring one protein for a specific reason, such as troponin to diagnose a heart attack, is standard clinical practice. We are extremely excited about the opportunity to identify new markers for screening and diagnosis from the thousands of proteins circulating and now measurable in human blood,” stated lead author Professor Claudia Langenberg, who is also the director of Queen Mary University of London’s Precision Healthcare University Research Institute, in a communiqué.

The study’s primary author, postdoctoral researcher Julia Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez, told The Epoch Times that the idea for the study came from earlier research done by her team on a condition linked to poor glucose regulation.

“[The condition] is basically a form of prediabetes that you can only detect when you do what’s called an oral glucose tolerance test, but not through HBA1c (blood glucose testing) or fasting glucose testing,” she said.

“We started working with proteomics (large-scale study of proteins) to try to develop a test … to predict the outcome of this oral glucose tolerance test without having to perform it because it’s routinely not done in clinical practice.”

According to Ms. Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez, their earlier research made them question if proteins could be used to forecast other diseases.

According to her, their present model projects the onset of sickness ten years from now.

“[Ten years] is kind of a long time frame for some of the diseases that we’re studying … a three- or five-year prediction timeline would be a bit more relevant. However, the data is still not large enough, which is why … all of them are trained for 10-year incidents,” the first author said.

Proteomics expert Ms. Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez told The Epoch Times that she hoped the proteomics tests employed in the study would be utilized to screen certain populations most at risk for the disease in issue rather than the general population.

52 Diseases Detected

The study, which was published in Nature Medicine, examined over 3,000 distinct blood proteins for 218 distinct disorders using information from the UK Biobank.

A blood sample from more than 40,000 participants was gathered for proteomics analysis.

Then, using their electronic health information, these individuals were monitored for ten years to see what ailments they would get.

Researchers identified protein signatures for over 60 diseases in those who did end up acquiring various illnesses based on an analysis of their protein levels from ten years ago.

Five to twenty distinct proteins make up each protein signature.

To estimate the risk for different diseases, the researchers created a clinical model that took into account several variables, including body mass index, sex, and age.

They created three additional models by layering on the protein signature, illness biomarkers, or genetic risk scores, and then compared the outcomes.

The scientists discovered that the predictions for 52 diseases were significantly improved by using the protein signature approach. These comprise, among others, multiple myeloma, COPD, dementia, Sjogren’s disease, prostate cancer, dilated cardiomyopathy, liver cirrhosis, and celiac disease.

The scientists noted that their protein signature approach surpassed the biomarker model for prostate cancer, which is presently detected by testing an individual’s prostate-specific antigen.

Additionally, they discovered several proteins that were highly specific for predicting a single disease; for instance, TNF receptor superfamily member 17, a protein involved in B-cell development, was found to be highly specific for multiple myeloma prediction.

One-Time Sample Model

At the beginning of the trial, blood samples from the participants were only obtained once. For ten years, the results of their health were monitored via their electronic health records.

It is doubtful that blood protein levels would alter significantly, according to Ms. Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez.

“There are not that many studies with repeated proteomic sampling. But the ones that exist do show that there are quite stable levels or stable measurements of the proteins. Very large variations are mostly associated with changes in risk factors or the environment that may, on itself, predispose you to a different disease.”

According to Ms. Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez, their test might improve the decisions made by medical professionals when it comes to identifying and managing high-risk patients.

“If we think about screening the entire population [for celiac disease] … about one person in 100 people will basically go on to develop celiac disease,” she said, adding that many people may need to be tested to only help one person.

However, certain population groups have a higher chance of getting celiac disease, such as those who have an autoimmune condition.

“This is kind of the general framework in which we envision,” she said, “It’s just about finding the right population in which you would apply this sort of test realistically.”

According to the first author, physicians in the US might also use the proteomics test to check for illnesses in their own patients when doing routine exams.

Recently, GreatGameInternational reported that scientists have discovered an innovative cancer treatment using light to precisely target and destroy cancer cells without harming nearby healthy cells.

Read the study below:

s41591-024-03142-z