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U.S. researchers found that Alzheimer’s patients have up to four times more antibodies than healthy people.

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia and Veterans Affairs Medical Center studied plasma samples from 33 patients with Alzheimer’s and 42 healthy people.

The samples revealed that Alzheimer’s patients had four times the number of amyloid-B peptides, which are harmless protein fragments found in the bloodstream. Alzheimer’s patients also had four times the regular amount of receptors for advanced gylcation end products, called RAGE, which help attract cellular waste to the bloodstream.

Researchers found when RAGE is in the brain, it attracts beta amyloid to form a complex reaction that may elicit a strong immune response. This response leads researchers to believe there is an autoimmune component to the disease, according to Reuters.