New blood test could detect Alzheimer’s disease YEARS before symptoms
The test can detect the presence of a protein that accumulates in the brains of people with the disease
SCIENTISTS have developed a blood test that could identify people at risk of Alzheimer’s years before they experience symptoms.
It can detect the presence of a protein that accumulates in the brains of people with the disease.
Doctors currently have to rely on expensive brain scans or invasive spinal taps to detect the protein, named amyloid beta.
But researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, in the United States, successfully trialled the test on 41 people aged 60 and over.
Dr Randall Bateman, who worked on the study, said the test may one day be as common as regular screening for cholesterol and high blood pressure.
They could then be given drugs to combat the disease – once a treatment is discovered.
Dr Bateman added: “These findings are important.”
Dr James Pickett, from the Alzheimer’s Society, said not everyone with amyloid in their brain has Alzheimer’s disease, so there are limits to how well the test would work.
But he said it may identify people at risk of the disease as amyloid starts to build up years before dementia symptoms occur.
He added: “To run successful clinical trials for drugs that can slow, stop or prevent dementia, researchers are increasingly studying people who do not have any symptoms.
“People with amyloid in their brain may be at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s in the next few years and suitable for these kind of clinical trials.
“A test that detects amyloid in the blood could be a quick and affordable way to identify these people, and potentially be less invasive and expensive than other methods.”
The findings were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London.
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