Scientists Create Blood Test That Can Spot Alzheimer¡¯s Years Before Symptoms Begin & It May Be Available Soon
Researchers have reportedly developed a new blood test for Alzheimer's disease that can detect it years before symptoms actually show.
In big news, scientists have now created a new, more 'accurate' blood test to detect Alzheimer¡¯s disease years before the symptoms even begin to show. The test can make diagnosis simpler, more affordable and widely available, reported The New York Times.
According to the research published in JAMA and presented at the Alzheimer¡¯s Association International Conference, ¡®the test determined whether people with dementia had Alzheimer¡¯s instead of another condition and it identified signs of the degenerative, deadly disease 20 years before memory and thinking problems were expected in people with a genetic mutation that causes Alzheimer¡¯s¡¯.
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The blood test can detect Alzheimer¡¯s in early stages, possibly years before symptoms appear. This has been a longtime goal for Alzheimer¡¯s and dementia researchers.
Alzheimer¡¯s disease causes damage to cognitive abilities. Currently, most Alzheimer¡¯s research involves people who have lived with it and experienced this damage first-hand. However, with this blood test it would be possible to test people with Alzheimer¡¯s who show no symptoms. The idea is to catch them at a stage when the disease hasn¡¯t progressed, making diagnoses and perhaps possible preventative therapies easier to develop.
Also Read: Risk Of Dementia, Alzheimer¡¯s Disease Grows By Negative Thinking
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¡°This blood test very, very accurately predicts who¡¯s got Alzheimer¡¯s disease in their brain, including people who seem to be normal,¡± The New York Times quoted Dr. Michael Weiner, an Alzheimer¡¯s disease researcher at the University of California, San Francisco as saying. He is not involved in the study. ¡°It¡¯s not a cure, it¡¯s not a treatment, but you can¡¯t treat the disease without being able to diagnose it. And accurate, low-cost diagnosis is really exciting, so it¡¯s a breakthrough, he said.
In the research presented at the Alzheimer¡¯s Association International Conference this week, scientists tested people with dementia to see if they had Alzheimer¡¯s or some other neurodegenerative condition. They found increased levels of a protein, p-tau217, that could predict Alzheimer¡¯s dementia with 96% accuracy.
AP
According to the research, people with Alzheimer¡¯s had seven times more tau protein, than people either without any dementia, or with other neurogenerative disorders such as Parkinson¡¯s disease. The blood test was found to be more accurate and efficient than the current methods doctors use to diagnose Alzheimer¡¯s.
This test could be available for clinical use in less than two to three years. If this proves to be a success then a lot of people can be treated for the disease years before any symptoms show.
Also Read: If You Are A Slow Walker, You Are More Likely To Get Sick Or Develop Alzheimer's As Grow Old
