{"id":35681,"date":"2026-03-31T16:55:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=35681"},"modified":"2026-04-01T19:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:55:08","slug":"new-ai-model-can-detect-multiple-brain-diseases-from-single-blood-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-ai-model-can-detect-multiple-brain-diseases-from-single-blood-test\/","title":{"rendered":"New AI Model Can Detect Multiple Brain Diseases From Single Blood Test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">Diagnosing dementia and related brain diseases is often slow and uncertain. A new AI model from Lund University points to a future where a single blood test could help detect multiple conditions at once.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Diagnosing dementia and other brain diseases is often a long, uncertain process. Symptoms overlap, patients may have more than one condition at the same time, and doctors must piece together brain scans, spinal taps and memory tests to reach an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed an artificial intelligence model that can detect several major neurodegenerative diseases from a single blood sample, using patterns in thousands of proteins circulating in the blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The work, based on data from more than 17,000 people and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41591-026-04303-y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in <em>Nature Medicine<\/em>, suggests that blood-based tests could one day help doctors sort out complex cases of cognitive decline more quickly and accurately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team, led by Jacob Vogel, drew on the Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium (GNPC), an international collaboration that has assembled one of the world\u2019s largest databases of proteins linked to brain disorders. GNPC\u2019s datasets include detailed measurements of proteins in blood and other samples from patients with different neurodegenerative diseases and from healthy control participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using these data, the researchers trained an AI system on what is known as joint learning, a statistical approach that allows a model to learn from multiple related tasks at the same time. In this case, the tasks were different brain diseases that can all cause dementia or movement problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By scanning through large proteomics datasets \u2014 essentially, maps of how much of each protein is present in a sample \u2014 the AI identified a set of proteins that together form a general pattern of brain degeneration. The model then used that pattern, along with disease-specific signals, to distinguish among several conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the researchers, the model could diagnose five major dementia-related conditions: Alzheimer\u2019s disease, Parkinson\u2019s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia and previous stroke. The study\u2019s title also refers to six conditions associated with dementia, reflecting the broader range of diagnoses considered in the analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vogel, an assistant professor in neurodegenerative research at Lund University, noted the ultimate goal is to turn this kind of technology into a practical tool for clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur hope is to be able to accurately diagnose several diseases at once with a single blood test in the future,&#8221; Vogel said in a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, many patients with memory problems receive a broad diagnosis such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease based mainly on symptoms and standard clinical tests. But the new study suggests that people who look similar in the clinic may have very different biology under the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First author Lijun An, a postdoctoral fellow in neurodegenerative research at Lund University, noted that the protein patterns captured by the AI told a richer story than the labels in patients\u2019 charts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe also found that the protein profile predicted cognitive decline better than the clinical diagnosis did, and it seems like individuals with the same clinical diagnosis may have different underlying biological subtypes,\u201d An said in the news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, two people told they have the same disease might actually have different combinations of disease processes in their brains. That could help explain why some patients decline quickly while others remain stable for years, or why some respond to certain treatments and others do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The model also revealed that many people diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease had protein signatures that looked more like other brain disorders. This raises tough questions about how often current clinical diagnoses capture what is really going on in the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vogel cautioned that the findings do not mean blood tests alone are ready to replace existing diagnostic tools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis could mean they have more than one underlying disease, that Alzheimer\u2019s can develop in multiple ways, or that the clinical diagnosis is incorrect. However, I don\u2019t think current protein measurements from blood samples will be sufficient on their own to diagnose multiple diseases, we need to refine the method and combine it with other clinical diagnostic tools,\u201d Vogel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, the AI model is a research tool, not a commercial test. But it points toward a future in which doctors could use a simple blood draw, combined with imaging and cognitive exams, to get a much clearer picture of what is happening in a patient\u2019s brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond diagnosis, the protein patterns highlighted by the AI could guide basic science. Many of the proteins that contributed most strongly to the model point to biological pathways that may drive neurodegeneration. Following up on those clues could help researchers understand why brain cells die in different diseases and how to stop or slow that process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team plans to expand the model by adding even more detailed protein measurements using advanced methods such as mass spectrometry. That could help tease apart patterns that are unique to each disease, rather than shared across many forms of dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The long-term vision is a blood test that can reliably sort patients into the right disease category early, when treatments have the best chance to work and when families are making crucial life plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe hope to inch closer toward a blood test that can make reliable diagnosis across disorders without aid from other clinical instruments,\u201d Vogel added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For students and early-career scientists, the study is also a glimpse of how data science, AI and biology are converging. By combining massive proteomics datasets with modern machine learning, researchers are beginning to read the molecular signatures of brain disease from a simple vial of blood \u2014 and potentially transform how we detect and treat some of the most feared illnesses of aging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lunduniversity.lu.se\/article\/new-ai-model-can-detect-multiple-cognitive-brain-diseases-single-blood-sample\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Lund University<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Diagnosing dementia and related brain diseases is often slow and uncertain. A new AI model from Lund University points to a future where a single blood test could help detect multiple conditions at once.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[242],"class_list":["post-35681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai","tag-lund-university"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Diagnosing dementia and related brain diseases is often slow and uncertain. A new AI model from Lund University points to a future where a single blood test could help detect multiple conditions at once.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35681"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35694,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35681\/revisions\/35694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}