A blood test that can detect an early stage of Alzheimer's disease has been developed. This was done by a team led by Dr. Robert Nagele from Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine and Durin Technologies, Inc.
The researchers were able to try out the blood test in 236 subjects. Reports said the blood test was said to have exhibited 100 percent accuracy, sensitivity and specificity in determining which of the subjects had mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to an early stage of Alzheimer's disease.
According to Science Alert, 50 of the subjects were diagnosed with MCI, 50 with mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease, 50 were healthy. The rest were diagnosed with mild-moderate Parkinson's disease, early-stage Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, or breast cancer.
Alzheimer's blood test '100 percent' accurate https://t.co/IkRGA8iED8
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Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease
"Our results show that it is possible to use a small number of blood-borne autoantibodies to accurately diagnose early-stage Alzheimer's," said Cassandra DeMarshall, as per CBS Philadelphia. DeMarshall is the lead author of the study.
DeMarshall said that the findings offer promise for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Their results may pave the way for a "simple, inexpensive and relatively noninvasive way" of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease while the condition is yet to progress.
Blood Test Is Disease-Specific
The blood test Nagele and his team developed is disease-specific, MedicalXpress reported. It was noted that the test was able to differentiate early Alzheimer's disease at the MCI stage from Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and early stage breast cancer.
Despite the success in the development of the blood test, the authors were quoted as saying that they need a larger study to show the usefulness of the test. Their findings on the development of the blood test for early detection of Alzheimer's disease were published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring.
