Photograph by ZaldyImg
Scientists have created a blood test that can detect whether a person will develop Alzheimer’s disease up to three years before the onset of symptoms, such as memory loss and confusion.
The test is currently only 90% accurate, raising fears that some people may be wrongfully diagnosed with an incurable disease. However, the researchers say that by finding those at risk of the disease early, there will be a better opportunity to trial experimental treatments.
In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, a team of scientists Howard Federoff of Georgetown University Medical Centre, Washington, identified ten lipids in the blood, which change along with the breakdown of the membranes of brain cells with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
A blood test, which could be available commercially within a few years, can then analyse these lipids to determine whether a person will develop symptoms of the disease in the next few years.
