A New Blood Test Could Help Diagnose Alzheimer's

A study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia details a blood test for Alzheimer's developed by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital that aims to be accurate, more cost-effective, and less uncomfortable, reports Medical News Today . According to the researchers, the test may be able to identify Alzheimer's biomarkers before the manifestation of obvious symptoms. The team first devised a technique to detect the specific subset of tau molecules that appear at high levels in Alzheimer's, focusing on various ways of identifying different types of molecules in both blood and cerebrospinal fluid. They then tested these methods in samples of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid from two cohorts of 65 and 86 individuals, respectively. The researchers evaluated five tests for tau molecules, ultimately determining the most effective to be an "NT1 assay," demonstrating both sensitivity and specificity. "A blood test for Alzheimer's disease could be administered easily and repeatedly, with subjects going to their primary care office rather than having to go into the hospital," says study author Dominic Walsh. "Ultimately, a blood-based test could replace cerebrospinal fluid testing and/or brain imaging."