Blood Test Potentially Able to Predict Alzheimer’s Disease Onset (BBC News / Alzheimer’s & Dementia)

Summary

Research published in the Alzheimer’s & Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association may indicate a significant step forwards in developing a blood test which could be able to predict the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease onset with 87% accuracy.

Research on more than 1,000 people, at various stages in the transition from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease, has identified a set of ten proteins in the blood.

This development raises the possibility of a test capable of predicting, reasonably accurately, which patients with mild cognitive impairment are likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease in the following year. Such a test to predict the development of Alzheimer’s Disease – and / or other forms of dementia – could reduce the high number of failures in drug trials, thereby facilitating medical research and ultimately the development of new treatments, as has been discussed earlier.

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Reference

Gallagher, J. (2014). Alzheimer’s research in ‘major step’ towards blood test. London: BBC Health News, July 8^th 2014.

This relates to:

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Reference

Hye, A. Riddoch-Contreras, J. Baird, AL. [and] Lovestone, S. [et al] (2014). Plasma proteins predict conversion to dementia from prodromal disease. Alzheimer’s and Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. July 10^th 2014. [Epub ahead of print].

The following NHS Choices Behind the Headlines critical appraisal places this research in context:

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Reference

New Alzheimer’s test may help future clinical trials. London: NHS Choices Behind the Headlines, July 8^th 2014.

An older, related, article of possible interest:

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Reference

Fiandaca, MS. Mapstone, ME. [and] Cheema, AK. [et al] (2014). The critical need for defining preclinical biomarkers in Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s and Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, June 2014, Vol.10(3), Supplement, S196-212. (Click here to view the PubMed abstract).

Possibly also of interest:

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Reference

Phipps, L. (2014). In the news: Blood test progress for Alzheimer’s. London: Alzheimer’s Research UK Blog, July 7^th 2014.