A blood test to detect Alzheimer’s disease? Here’s how it may look
Global News
A simple blood test has the potential to accurately screen for Alzheimer's disease before symptoms start to show, according to a recent study.
A simple blood test has the potential to accurately screen for Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms start to show, according to a recent study.
The study, published in JAMA Neurology Monday, found the blood test can identify key plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease, with up to 97 per cent accuracy.
“Plasma biomarkers have emerged as important tools for Alzheimer’s disease evaluation,” the team of researchers from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden wrote in the study.
“Use of a blood biomarker is intended to enhance an early and precise Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, leading to improved patient management and, ultimately, timely access to disease-modifying therapies.”
More than 600,000 people in Canada are living with dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada (ASC). By 2030, nearly one million people in Canada are forecast to live with the cognitive disease.
More than 25 diseases and conditions can cause dementia, but Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.
The typical indicator of Alzheimer’s in the brain is the buildup of the proteins phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and abnormal amyloid, explained Dr. Roger Wong, a clinical professor of geriatric medicine at the University of British Columbia.
Scientists use these biomarkers as a tool for early diagnosis and monitoring, to tell whether there is a high likelihood of having the disease, he said.
