There is currently a crucial need for improved diagnostic techniques and targeted treatment methods for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a disease which impacts millions of elderly individuals each year. Metabolomic analysis has been proposed as a potential methodology to better investigate and understand the progression of this disease. In this report, we present our AD metabolomics results measured with high resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) on human blood plasma samples obtained from AD and non-AD subjects. Our study centers on developments of AD and non-AD metabolomics differentiating models with procedures of quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) through pooled samples. Our findings suggest that analysis of blood plasma samples using HRMAS NMR has the potential to differentiate between diseased and healthy subjects, which has important clinical implications for future improvements in AD diagnosis methodologies.

High‐resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)‐based metabolomics has demonstrated its utility in studies of biofluids for various diseases. HRMAS NMR spectroscopy is uniquely well suited for analyzing human blood samples because of the small quantity of samples and minimal preparation required. To develop this methodology into standardized clinical protocols, establishment of the method's quality assurance (QA) and evaluations of its quality control (QC) are critical. This study aims to assess the QA/QC measured from human blood specimens in the form of serum and plasma through within‐subject and between‐subject comparisons, as well as stability and consistency comparisons over several freezing–thawing cycles of sample storage conditions, and most importantly, the agreement of pooled control samples against individual samples.

Currently, a definitive AD diagnosis can only be achieved at autopsy, through pathology examinations of brain tissue. No non- or less-invasive examination can yet diagnose and characterize AD during the patient’s life, in turn limiting insights into potential strategies for countering AD modes of progression. Here, using HRMAS MRS, we studied human blood plasma samples obtained from AD and non-AD subjects to reveal potential AD-associated metabolomic changes measurable in blood, which may assist with AD diagnosis and, more importantly, contribute to the development of precision treatments.