Alzheimer's blood test breakthrough reported in new study
The latest in diagnosing Alzheimers in its earlier stages.
July 8, 2014. Scientists believe one of the reasons drug trials for Alzheimer's disease yield poor results is because drugs are given too late in the development of the disease, which is notoriously difficult to diagnose early. Now a new study (led by King's College London in the UK and the British company Proteome Sciences) suggests this might be about to change - the researchers identified a group of 10 proteins in the blood that they believe can predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
The news follows recent reports from others who are taking steps to improve the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. In March 2014, researchers in the US said they were getting closer to a new blood test for Alzheimer's when they reported in Nature Medicine how they identified and validated 10 biomarkers that can predict with 90% accuracy whether a healthy person will develop Alzheimer's or cognitive decline within 3 years.
Meanwhile, in a position paper published recently in The Lancet Neurology, an international team of experts reveals its proposals for a simpler, more reliable approach to diagnosing Alzheimer's disease that promises to reduce the current 33% misdiagnosis rate.
