Alzheimer’s research in ‘major step’ towards blood test

July 9, 2014

British scientists have made a “major step forward” in developing a blood test to predict the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Research in more than 1,000 people has identified a set of proteins in the blood which can predict the start of the dementia with 87 per cent accuracy.

The findings, published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, will be used to improve trials for new dementia drugs.

Experts warned that the test was not yet ready for doctors’ surgeries.

Research into treatments for Alzheimer’s disease has been plagued by failure. Between 2002 and 2012, 99.6 per cent of trials aimed at preventing or reversing the disease flopped.

BBC News