Early blood test for Alzheimer’s shows 100% accuracy in trials

Researchers at Rowan University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in New Jersey say they’ve developed a foolproof method for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

The team of Robert Nagele, PhD, and PhD candidates Cassandra DeMarshall and Abhirup Sarkar found a way to use biomarkers to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an early symptom of Alzheimer’s that has been present in patients 10 years before the more severe signs of the disease begin to show.

In a study analyzing blood samples from 236 subjects—50 of whom had MCI—Nagele said said his team was able to diagnose the MCI patients with 100 percent accuracy.

“It is now generally believed that Alzheimer’s-related changes begin in the brain at least a decade before the emergence of telltale symptoms,” Nagele said in a statement. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first blood test using autoantibody biomarkers that can accurately detect Alzheimer’s at an early point in the course of the disease when treatments are more likely to be beneficial—that is, before too much brain devastation has occurred.”

While a MCI diagnosis may be caused by other conditions such as Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis, DeMarshall said about 60 percent of all MCI patients whose condition is related to Alzheimer’s. Identifying the Alzheimer’s related forms of MCI may help future early detection and treatment options.  

“Our results show that it is possible to use a small number of blood-borne autoantibodies to accurately diagnose early-stage Alzheimer’s. These findings could eventually lead to the development of a simple, inexpensive and relatively noninvasive way to diagnose this devastating disease in its earliest stages,” DeMarshall said.

Early and simple staging of the disease through a blood test could offer many potential benefits, according to the researchers, including delaying its progression through lifestyle changes, beginning treatment earlier and having more time to plan for future care needs.