Now a simple blood test can diagnose or predict Alzheimer’s disease much before the symptoms appear. The blood test developed by scientists will run through several validations and subsequent trials before it becomes available in hospitals and clinics.
At present the only definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease is through brain scans and tests of cerebrospinal fluid that must be collected via lumbar puncture. These tests are cumbersome and expensive yet they provide the most accurate diagnoses for patients.
The new blood test has been developed by researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US that could replace these cumbersome procedures.
“A blood test for Alzheimer’s disease could be administered easily and repeatedly, with patients going to their primary care office rather than having to go into a hospital,” Dominic Walsh from Brigham told PTI.
“Our test will need further validation in many more people, but if it performs as in the initial two cohorts, it would be a transformative breakthrough,” said Walsh.
