New test for Alzheimer’s

A new technique could lead to a blood test for detecting Alzheimer’s, a US study claims.

The small trial, published in the journal Cell, used thousands of artificial molecules to “fish” for the disease.

Researchers hope to use this method to diagnose other diseases earlier, including lung and pancreatic cancers.

The Alzheimer’s Research Trust said it could result in a new test, but more research was needed.

The technique relies on the immune system’s ability to recognise foreign material.

Proteins on viruses and bacteria are recognised as alien so the body produces antibodies, and the same is true for Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer's

So if you can test for the antibody, you can test for the disease – traditionally, however, this has been very hard to do.

The test could open the way to developing drugs, which could halt the disease in its tracks.

It could also be modified to detect illnesses ranging from multiple sclerosis to Parkinson’s to cancer, say scientists at Scripps Research Institute in the US, the journal Cell reports.

Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia affect millions worldwide. There is no cure and existing drugs do not work for everyone, according to the Daily Mail .

The Scripps team fabricated thousands of molecules hoping that some would react with antibodies in the immune systems of Alzheimer’s sufferers.

When they ran blood samples over the manmade molecules, three produced strong reactions. Further samples showed the test to be 93 per cent accurate.

So far, only a small number of people have been studied, but the team hopes to have results from thousands more within a few months.

Study co-author Thomas Kodadek said: “We should be able to see disease perhaps three to five years prior to symptoms.”

“Patients at that early stage would provide a far higher chance of potential drugs showing clear effects in clinical trials,” he said.

“The current state, where demented people are being treated, is pretty bad since no drug is going to reverse neurodegeneration.”