Scientists in Dublin have discovered a groundbreaking blood test that could transform Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. The new plasma p-tau217 test demonstrates over 90% accuracy compared to traditional lumbar puncture methods. Researchers believe this approach could eliminate the need for invasive procedures in more than half of early-stage patient assessments. The study, published in a leading medical journal, represents a significant advancement in neurological diagnostic techniques.
February 18, 2025
A blood test could improve Alzheimer's disease diagnosis
"This 'translation' from a research to a
diagnostic test is dependent on the scientists, the clinical teams and the support
from hospital management" - Dr Jean Dunne
A blood test could improve Alzheimer's
disease diagnosis
New Delhi, Feb 16: A new blood test may have
the potential to transform Alzheimer's disease diagnosis, patient care, early
interventions and more targeted treatments, say researchers.
Key Points
1 Breakthrough blood test offers 90% accuracy in
Alzheimer's detection
2 Potentially replaces invasive lumbar puncture
procedures
3 Study involves 148 patient samples from Dublin
research centers
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin, the
Tallaght Institute of Memory and Cognition and St James's Hospital, Dublin are
exploring the ability of a new blood test to detect Alzheimer's Disease (AD).
This test could potentially replace the
current diagnostic method, a lumbar puncture/spinal tap (which is invasive and
poses risks and challenges) in over half of patients with early symptoms, thus
allowing more patients to be diagnosed more accurately and with greater
efficiency.
The study, published in the journal Alzheimer's
& Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring, is one of the
first in Europe to examine the "real-world" performance of one of the
leading automated blood tests for Alzheimer's Disease, plasma p-tau217, in
patients with mild symptoms undergoing assessment in a specialist memory
service.
About 148 patients generously donated blood
and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, enabling researchers to directly compare
new blood tests to established CSF biomarkers.
The study found that measuring plasma
p-tau217 using a fully-automated system, was more than 90 per cent as accurate
as results obtained from LP.
Integrating the blood test into clinical
pathways could potentially avoid the need for over half of diagnostic LPs. This
has clear implications for the diagnosis and management of early Alzheimer
Disease.
From their results, the research team believe
that this new blood test could replace over half of the 150-200 diagnostic LP
procedures that they currently carry out in the Tallaght Institute of Memory
and Cognition every year.
This blood test is not available currently in
Ireland and the findings from this research will lend support to making it
available in the future.
"This 'translation' from a research to a
diagnostic test is dependent on the scientists, the clinical teams and the
support from hospital management," said Dr Jean Dunne, Chief Medical
Scientist, Department of Immunology, St James's Hospital and Trinity
Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI).
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