New breakthrough test detects Alzheimer’s decades earlier
A simple new blood test can now pinpoint Alzheimer’s disease up to 20 years before any symptoms appear, in a significant breakthrough in the fight against dementia.
Pioneered by Australian and Japanese researchers, the blood test measures levels of beta-amyloid – known as the “Alzheimer’s protein” – in the brain. The protein begins to build up from the age of 50, years before symptoms often appear, and is a strong indicator that a person will get the disease.
The world’s first accurate blood test will make diagnosis much easier, cheaper and more accessible. Currently, most patients only get diagnosed with Alzheimer’s once symptoms appear.
Lead researcher Professor Colin Master, from the University of Melbourne, said the blood test can now be a part of a routine health check and screen people for their risk of developing Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.
“I can see ... people having a regular check-up every five years after the age of 55, 60 to determine whether they are on the Alzheimer’s pathway or not,” he said.
“The test itself has an accuracy of greater than 90 per cent at predicting people who are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s because they have a build-up of this abnormal protein in the brain,” Professor Master said.
However, Professor Masters acknowledges many people might not want to know they one day may suffer from the disease.
"Most people probably wouldn't want to have this test unless there's a specific therapy, but many others would take the view that they want to plan ahead by five or 10 years," Professor Masters said.
"If the test is negative, there's a 95 per cent chance that you're not going to develop Alzheimer's within the foreseeable future – that means within 10 or 15 years."
However, the professor said it will still early days and the blood test will now be used to find people suitable for clinical trials, before hopefully expanding to be used by the wider population.
"Always in this type of medical science research, it's always good to have a diagnosis first and then a treatment follows," he said.
"Once you can diagnose the condition accurately and specifically, then it makes it so much easier to work on developing a specific therapy."