Research led by Dr Bryan Ng, Prof Nick Fox and Prof Henrik Zetterberg (UK DRI at UCL) has demonstrated that biomarkers linked to ageing are altered in people who have Alzheimer’s. The study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, highlights the role of brain ageing in various neurodegenerative diseases and identifies biomarkers that may be useful to differentiate neurological conditions.
What was the challenge?
Alzheimer’s is defined by the accumulation of amyloid beta plaques and tau tangles in the brain. Age is the biggest risk factor for the condition, though there are people in their advance ages having amyloid build-up in their brain with no dementia symptoms. Chronological age is therefore a poor predictor of Alzheimer’s risk. In this study, the researchers aimed to test biomarkers associated with biological ageing, to examine whether markers of biological age could help inform Alzheimer’s onset and progression.
What did the team do and what did they find?
The researchers analysed samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) taken from three groups: people with Alzheimer’s, people with another neurodegenerative condition (e.g frontotemporal dementia), and people who did not have a neurodegenerative condition. They selected seven potential markers of biological ageing to test the samples against – including well established biomarkers such as neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).
They found that two of the biomarkers, osteopontin and matrix metallopeptidase 10 (MMP-10) were elevated specifically in samples taken from people with Alzheimer’s – and incorporating them into a biomarker test panel helped to differentiate Alzheimer’s cases from other neurodegenerative conditions. Investigating further, they found that MMP-10 and osteopontin were linked to cognitive impairment and pathological signs of amyloid beta accumulation in the CSF, respectively.
Our study suggests that brain ageing plays a role in Alzheimer’s, and that using MMP-10 and osteopontin as ageing-associated biomarkers could improve how we measure and track Alzheimer’s progression.
Dr Bryan NgFormer UK DRI Postdoctoral Researcher
What is the impact?
These results suggest that proteins associated with biological ageing are implicated clinical outcomes in Alzheimer’s, and that MMP-10 and osteopontin could be useful additions to incorporate into biomarker testing for the condition.
Reference: Ng B, Kodosaki E, Veleva E, et al. Aging-related matrix metallopeptidase 10 and osteopontin levels are associated with pathology, cognitive decline, and age at onset in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's Dement. 2026;22:e71082. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71082
