Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
An international research effort is underway to determine if a simple finger-prick blood test could become a reliable tool for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. This study involves 1,000 volunteers over the age of 60 from the UK, US, and Canada. The goal is to identify specific biomarkers in the blood that are linked to the development of Alzheimer’s.
Among the participants is Dr Michael Sandberg, a general practitioner from London, who was motivated to join the trial after witnessing his mother’s gradual decline due to Alzheimer’s disease. After undergoing the trial’s testing, he received negative results, which he described as “a huge relief.” The study, known as the Bio-Hermes-002 trial, is led by the medical research charity LifeArc and the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation, with backing from the UK Dementia Research Institute.
Dr Giovanna Lalli, LifeArc’s director of strategy and operations, explained that the team is focusing on three specific proteins detectable in the bloodstream that have been associated with Alzheimer’s. By measuring their presence and concentration, researchers hope to determine if they can predict a person’s risk of developing the disease. This focus arises from previous findings that abnormal proteins, amyloid and tau, accumulate in the brain up to 15 years before symptoms of Alzheimer’s manifest, marking the disease’s early biological footprint.
Currently, volunteers undergo established gold-standard diagnostic methods for Alzheimer’s such as PET brain scans with radioactive tracers or lumbar punctures to sample cerebrospinal fluid. These tests are invasive, expensive, and time-consuming, with only a small fraction of patients typically receiving them. The finger-prick test could revolutionize this process by providing an accessible, quicker alternative. Prof Fiona Carragher from the Alzheimer’s Society emphasized the urgent need for early and accurate diagnosis, noting that “getting an accurate diagnosis takes far too long” and stating that with new treatments emerging, prompt diagnosis is vital.
Dr Sandberg shared his hope that knowledge is empowering, expressing enthusiasm that future screening for dementia risk might be possible without the need for costly scans or invasive procedures. Although his results were reassuring, scientists will need to fully assess data from all participants before confirming the test’s effectiveness in detecting Alzheimer’s risk. Meanwhile, Dr Emer MacSweeney, a neuro-radiologist involved in recruiting UK volunteers, highlighted the potential impact, saying that a successful finger-prick test “provides a ubiquitous, accurate test which can detect the presence of abnormal amyloid protein in the brain without complicated, expensive investigations.”
This line of research aligns with recent progress; for instance, US regulators approved a blood test last year that diagnoses Alzheimer’s through traditional blood draws. The finger-prick method offers additional advantages, including the possibility of home use with samples mailed to laboratories without refrigeration. The trial includes a diverse pool of participants, including cognitively normal individuals, those with mild impairment, and some at early stages of Alzheimer’s, with at least 25% from under-represented groups. Expected to finish in 2028, this study represents a significant step toward potentially changing how dementia is diagnosed and managed worldwide
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.