The hardest part of Alzheimer’s is that the current 100% test for Alzheimer’s Disease is a Postmortem examination of the brain. Obviously, that sucks for those living with the disease who can’t get a diagnosis. The reason why getting diagnosed is important is that it could help with Disability and insurance purposes, as well as provide an explanation for what’s happening with a loved one’s body.
A new way to diagnosis Alzheimer’s could be within reach. This new diagnosis tool is a blood test that has a higher likelihood of correctly diagnosing Alzheimer’s in a patient. Francis Martin, an author of the study and professor in the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire in the U.K. goes on to say ‘For such a simple test to be so predictive is very exciting’.
The goal for any Alz/Dementia diagnosis tool is to be as accurate as possible while at the same time trying to be cost effective and as non-evasive as possible. The less stress you put on someone to get a result the better. A blood test is simple and doesn’t take too much of a toll on the patient.
Some other current methods of diagnosis are expensive and take some time to do. These include comprehensive brain scans and testing mental capacity of the patient in question. This new blood test method could definitely make these clunky and in-efficient tests go away soon or become a confirmation test after the fact.
The study included 347 participants with various degenerative diseases in addition to 202 health participants with no mental diseases. These healthy individuals helped serve as a comparison test to make sure the results were as accurate as possible.
Having an accurate diagnosis can help monitor the progress of the disease and can help Dr’s build specific plans to fight the diseases progress on the body.
Source: https://figshare.com/articles/Blood-based_spectroscopy_toward_investigation_of_neurodegenerative_diseases/5309797
