Changes in plasma levels of specific proteins could predict the development of dementia more than 10 years before clinical diagnosis, according to new research. Guo et al. analysed proteomic data from 52,645 people without dementia at baseline in the UK Biobank over a follow-up period of 14.1 years. The analysis identified changes in 184 proteins associated with development of all-cause dementia, 16 with Alzheimer disease, and 139 with vascular dementia. In particular, increased levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein predicted dementia more than 10 years before diagnosis, making it an “optimal biomarker” for prediction of dementia, according to the investigators.