Scientists are closer to developing a blood test for Alzheimer’s with the discovery of a set of 10 proteins in blood that may help predict the disease.
"A simple blood test could help us identify patients at a much earlier stage to take part in new trials and hopefully develop treatments,"
Simon Lovestone of Oxford University said, according to Reuters.
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Lovestone led the study, which was co-authored by biotech company Proteome Sciences and scientists from King's College.
The blood test can predict whether someone with memory problems will
develop Alzheimer’s with 87 percent accuracy, according to The Telegraph.
“This is welcome research on an issue we’ve made a national priority,” said Jeremy Hunt, the British Health Secretary, The Telegraph reported. “Developing tests and biomarkers will be important steps forward in the global fight against dementia as we search for a cure.”
Current drugs to treat the disease have failed, and scientists believe it’s because the disease has progressed too far before the drugs are administered. Early detection may help improve treatment.
“Alzheimer’s begins to affect the brain many years before patients are diagnosed with the disease. If we could treat the disease in that phase we would in effect have a preventative strategy,” Lovestone said.
The study, published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, examined blood samples from 1,148 people.
More work is needed. Accuracy would need to be improved before the test could be considered useful as a diagnostic tool.
The first test could be available in two to five years, The Telegraph reported.
Twitter users reacted with hope and skepticism.
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