Researchers have developed an extremely accurate new blood test capable of detecting an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease.
The new test was developed by researchers at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine and Durin Technologies.
The team has carried out a proof concept among 236 voluntary participants. The test were able to identify 100 percent of users whose MCI was caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
The team looked into the data from blood samples from 50 MCI individuals “with low levels of amyloid-beta 42 peptides in their cerebrospinal fluid”. It can identify pathologies in the brain, initiated by Alzheimer’s, and can calculate its advance.
Study noted that Alzheimer’s disease caused MCI in 60 percent of patients. The 40 percent left was generated by other elements including drug side-effects, depression, and vascular issues.
“About 60 percent of all MCI (mild cognitive impairment) patients have MCI caused by an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease,” Cassandra DeMarshall, Ph.D. candidate at the Rowan University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and lead study author noted. “The remaining 40 percent of cases are caused by other factors, including vascular issues, drug side-effects and depression. To provide proper care, physicians need to know which cases of MCI are due to early Alzheimer’s and which are not.”
"It is possible to use a small number of blood-borne autoantibodies to accurately diagnose early-stage Alzheimer's. These findings could eventually lead to the development of a simple, inexpensive and relatively noninvasive way to diagnose this devastating disease in its earliest stages," added DeMarshall.
However, It may be too early to declare this as a breakthrough but it is certainly a promising development.
Out of the 5.4 million Americans with Alzheimer's, an approximately 5.2 million people are age 65 and older, and approximately 200,000 individuals are under age 65 (younger-onset Alzheimer's). One in nine people age 65 and older has Alzheimer's disease.
By 2050, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer's disease may nearly triple, from 5.2 million to a projected 13.8 million
The study have been published in the journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
