Svensk forskning visar att ett nytt blodprov kan ge säkrare diagnos av Alzheimers sjukdom. Foto: Getty Images
Ett nytt blodprov can provide a more accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a latest Swedish study. When researchers tested for two different substances in the blood, the blood test provided a correct diagnosis in approximately 80 percent of cases.
New blood tests are making it possible to detect changes in the brain long before symptoms become clear, as Senioren previously reported.
This includes a protein called p-tau217, which can be measured in the blood.
Sjukdomen utvecklas långsamt
Alzheimer’s disease develops slowly, often over many years. Changes in the brain can occur up to 20 years before memory problems and other symptoms appear.
Early detection can allow for faster initiation of both drug treatment and other interventions. This represents particularly important as researchers continue to seek ways to gradual the progression of this devastating disease.
Minnesproblemen kan bero på annat
Though, very early detection is not without its challenges. The blood test can indicate changes, but these changes may not be the cause of the symptoms a person is experiencing. Memory problems and other issues can have other causes.
“The new blood tests that have begun to be used are good at detecting Alzheimer’s changes early – sometimes almost too early, since the disease has not yet broken out and the symptoms may therefore be due to another illness,” says researcher Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren at Lund University.
Har undersökt ett nytt ämne i blodet
Researchers estimate that more than 30 percent of the elderly population has Alzheimer’s changes to some degree.
“We have therefore investigated a marker that is instead linked to a later stage of the disease.”
Blodprov kan ge felaktiga svar
In the new study, published in the scientific journal The Lancet Neurology, 572 people who sought care for cognitive complaints participated.
A blood test can sometimes show signs of disease in people who are not yet sick. This is called a false positive result.
The researchers measured the levels of the protein p-tau217 in the blood of the participants.
“That was the case for 43 percent of those who had high p-tau217 – they had the changes, but did not meet all the criteria for the disease,” says Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren.
Nytt protein visar senare skede av sjukdomen
Researchers also investigated another protein in the blood, called eMTBR-tau243.
The picture became clearer then. When both blood tests were used together, the diagnosis became more accurate.
Blodprovet ger säkrare alzheimerdiagnos
They were able to identify people with Alzheimer’s disease with approximately 80 percent accuracy. At the same time, the risk of false positive results was more than halved.
People who had both substances in their blood experienced worse memory and thinking more quickly. They also had more of the harmful tau protein that accumulates in the brain with Alzheimer’s.
“By combining blood markers, we can better see which people have Alzheimer’s disease and which have the disease at such an advanced stage that it leads to symptoms.”
Kan användas mer i vården framöver
The results have also been confirmed in an American patient group.
Today, the blood test requires advanced technology. Researchers now want to investigate whether the blood test can be simplified, so that it can be taken at a primary care center in the future.
