Blood Test May Help Detect Alzheimer's Disease
Blood Test May Help Detect Alzheimer's Disease
Sept. 13, 2010 - A blood test may soon be able to detect early Alzheimer's disease, new findings suggest.
The blood contains no single marker for Alzheimer's disease, says Texas Tech Health Sciences Center researcher Sid E. O'Bryant, PhD.
But by looking at a number of different proteins in the blood, O'Bryant and colleagues have found a "biomarker profile" typical of people with Alzheimer's. By adding some basic demographic information about a patient, the test becomes even more accurate.
"In the near future, we will be able to provide a rapid, cost-effective, and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease using blood tests as well as some simple questions," O'Bryant tells WebMD. "It won't require a half day assessment in specialty clinic."
An earlier effort to develop a blood biomarker test for Alzheimer's disease showed promise in preliminary studies. But that test proved difficult to verify. O'Bryant says he's more hopeful about the current test, as samples were tested at a large commercial laboratory -- and as other researchers have begun to report results similar to his.
Indeed, the test was highly accurate at distinguishing people with Alzheimer's disease from people with no mental impairment. When combined with demographic data, it detected 94% of patients with Alzheimer's disease. However, it also had a false-positive rate of 16%.
Slideshow: When a Loved One Has Alzheimer's
The blood contains no single marker for Alzheimer's disease, says Texas Tech Health Sciences Center researcher Sid E. O'Bryant, PhD.
But by looking at a number of different proteins in the blood, O'Bryant and colleagues have found a "biomarker profile" typical of people with Alzheimer's. By adding some basic demographic information about a patient, the test becomes even more accurate.
"In the near future, we will be able to provide a rapid, cost-effective, and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease using blood tests as well as some simple questions," O'Bryant tells WebMD. "It won't require a half day assessment in specialty clinic."
An earlier effort to develop a blood biomarker test for Alzheimer's disease showed promise in preliminary studies. But that test proved difficult to verify. O'Bryant says he's more hopeful about the current test, as samples were tested at a large commercial laboratory -- and as other researchers have begun to report results similar to his.
Indeed, the test was highly accurate at distinguishing people with Alzheimer's disease from people with no mental impairment. When combined with demographic data, it detected 94% of patients with Alzheimer's disease. However, it also had a false-positive rate of 16%.
Slideshow: When a Loved One Has Alzheimer's
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