Chinese researchers have found the biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease for the first time in the world, making it possible to predict the disease up to seven years before it starts, laying the foundation for early intervention against the backdrop of China’s 10 million patients that top the global list.

Blood neuro-exosomal synaptic proteins could be used as the biomarker to predict Alzheimer’s disease and their accuracy is approximately 87 percent to 89 percent, Science and Technology Daily reported on Thursday.

The breakthrough finding was made by a team headed by Professor Jia Jianping from Beijing-based Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, and released in the Alzheimer’s & Dementia magazine, titled “Blood neuro-exosomal synaptic proteins predict Alzheimer’s disease at the asymptomatic stage.”

The research has been ongoing for 10 years as the team randomly visited people with normal cognitive functions for five to seven years, involving 739 subjects. They concluded that blood neuro-exosomal synaptic proteins can be used as a biomarker to predict Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment symptoms up to seven years before impacts become more serious.

Jia told media that the finding has helped win time for the early invention of the disease, adding to the efficiency of treatment and thereby reducing the number of cases.

China has the largest number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the world and the fastest growth rate. The number of patients is more than 10 million and it is estimated to reach 40 million by the year 2050, according to data from China’s first report on Alzheimer’s disease patients’ living situation, released in January.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most prominent diseases affecting seniors’ health and quality of life, but there is still no effective medicine for it, and many potential medicines fail as most patients are in the later periods of their lives. Early prevention of the disease may delay the symptoms, according to Science and Technology Daily.