Dementia breakthrough: 'Game-changer' blood test launched to predict Alzheimer's
Researchers found that it could indicate with almost 90 percent accuracy who would develop Alzheimer’s within four years. Commenting on the findings, University of Oxford professor Masud Husain said: “This is a potential game-changer. “For the first time, we have a blood test that can predict the risk of subsequent development of Alzheimer’s disease in people who have mild cognitive symptoms. “We need further validation but in the context of other recent findings this could be a transformative step to earlier diagnosis.” Alzheimer’s is characterised by the accumulation of proteins in the brain that are thought to kill off neurons.
Scientists used data from more than 500 people with mild cognitive impairment to test a number of models that looked at different blood bio-markers.
The study, led by Professor Oskar Hansson at LundUniversity, Sweden, found thatlevels of a tau protein called P-tau181 and neurofilament light polypeptide (NfL) were a strong indicator of which patients would deteriorate.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an umbrella term that describes symptoms including forgetfulness; problems with reasoning, planning or problem-solving; and trouble with visual depth perception.
More than half of people with MCI go on to develop dementia and experts are searching for a reliable way to predict who will be affected.
