A £5 million project started in the UK last year aims to enable individuals to receive Alzheimer’s diagnoses within seconds through the National Health Service (NHS) within the next five years
This aligns to provide easier and more accessible diagnostic methods for dementia.
Researchers at Gothenburg University in Sweden have recently evaluated an already available commercial blood test. They found that the test has the potential to challenge, the accuracy of traditional diagnostic methods such as costly brain scans or lumbar punctures.
The study focused on assessing the performance of a plasma phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) immunoassay, which produced promising results.
The Gothenburg University study
The study involved 786 participants across three cohorts, representing individuals with and without cognitive impairment grouped by amyloid and tau (AT) status using positron emission tomography (PET) or CSF biomarkers.
The results showed that the plasma p-tau217 immunoassay accurately identified abnormal Aβ and tau pathologies with high accuracy comparable to CSF biomarkers. The detection of abnormal Aβ pathology using a 3-range reference was consistent across the cohorts, reducing confirmatory testing by approximately 80%.
The study investigated the longstanding changes in plasma p-tau217 values over eight years. The results indicated that plasma p-tau217 values showed an annual increase only in individuals positive for Aβ, with the highest increase observed in those positive for Aβ and tau.
As anti-Aβ therapies become increasingly relevant in dementia management, validated blood biomarkers, such as plasma p-tau217, are urgently needed to guide treatment decisions. The study highlights the promise of p-tau217 as a diagnostic tool for AD and addresses the gap in the limited availability of commercial assays.
The UK project
Scientists are set to pilot groundbreaking blood tests for dementia to revolutionise disease detection and potentially enable NHS diagnoses within seconds in the next five years.
Backed by Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s Society, a £5 million project seeks to accelerate diagnoses using simple blood tests to determine Alzheimer’s presence with a single blood drop.
Current diagnosis methods
Current diagnostic methods often involve specialised and invasive procedures, such as lumbar punctures or brain scans, making them resource-intensive and less accessible. A blood test could revolutionise the diagnostic process, offering a more straightforward approach for clinical and research purposes.
The positive outcomes of this study could contribute to the ongoing efforts to integrate blood biomarkers into routine clinical evaluations and trial recruitment processes.
Creating easier diagnosis
The simpleness of access and reduced invasiveness of blood tests could address existing challenges in accessibility and resource-intensiveness associated with traditional diagnostic methods.
As the global effort to address the challenges posed by the increasing prevalence of dementia continues, the emergence of a reliable blood test marks a significant step forward in the quest for effective and accessible tools for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease.
