A multicenter research in which the Institut d’Investigació de l’Hospital de Sant Pau, in Barcelona, has participated, has developed a blood test which allows diagnosing the Alzheimer’s with a accuracy between 90% and 95%. The test focuses on locating plasma biomarkers with the ability to detect disease similar to that of lumbar puncture.
The study involved samples from a total of 786 participants with a average age of 66.3 years. The incorporation of this technique could reduce by 80% the number of tests required to confirm that a person suffers from this pathology. The work has been published in the ‘JAMA Neurology’ magazine.
Researchers have analyzed data from three observational cohorts: the Translational Biomarkers in Aging and Dementia (TRIAD), from Canada; the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP), from the United States, and the San Pablo Initiative on Neurodegeneration (SPIN), from Barcelona. The study involved samples of a total of 786 participants with an average age of 66.3 years which have revealed excellent accuracy, between 90% and 95%, in detecting the presence of Alzheimer’s.
The proof sits in the p-tau217 biomarker to identify accumulations of amyloid beta proteins and TAU, indicative of the disease. Thus, the results have indicated that p-tau217 has a comparable precision to biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid and is particularly effective in detecting longitudinal changes, even in preclinical stages of pathology. Furthermore, the new technique allows significantly reduce the need for additional confirmations, reducing the amount of tests required by 80%.
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This discovery opens the door to new research and treatments of the disease. The doctor Alberto Lleó, researcher in the Neurobiology of Dementia Group at the Sant Pau Research Institute and director of the center’s Neurology Service, has stated that “This progress is especially significant, since blood biomarkers could offer a more accessible and less invasive alternative for early diagnosis and follow-up.
Furthermore, the implementation of this type of test could significantly improve clinical evaluation and the clinical trial recruitment, as well as facilitate patient management and provide timely access to modifying therapies.