Protein signatures may one day tell brain diseases apart before symptoms

A large-scale study of proteins in blood and cerebrospinal fluid could pave the way for improved blood tests to diagnose multiple brain diseases — and potential early warning signs of disease risk — researchers report July 15 in several papers in Nature Medicine and Nature Aging.

Proteins do much of the work to keep cells and bodies working. Trouble with these building blocks can spell disease; protein misfolding, for instance, links many brain diseases.

The results, drawn…