The utility of mTOR signalling pathway dysregulation and mutational profiling in the risk stratification for future cognitive decline in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

A simple blood test could predict whether someone with mild memory problems will develop Alzheimer’s disease, replacing today’s unreliable guesswork. Current methods for predicting Alzheimer’s in early mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are only 25–30% accurate. Yet 50–60% of MCI patients are at high risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s. The problem is a lack of validated biomarkers—biological signposts—that can reliably flag who will decline. This project tests whether measuring dysregulation in a cellular signalling pathway called mTOR, combined with DNA sequence profiling, can fill that gap. The researchers have proprietary biomarkers they believe act as effective surrogates for this dysregulation. If the test works, it would transform clinical management of Alzheimer’s. Instead of waiting years to see who declines, doctors could stratify MCI patients by risk early on. More importantly, a reliable prognostic test would enable meaningful clinical trials of new Alzheimer’s therapies, because drug developers could enrol only those patients most likely to progress. This would speed up testing of treatments that currently stall due to imprecise patient selection. The project aligns with the UK Dementia Challenge, a government priority.