Alzheimer's Blood Test Almost 'Usable in Routine Clinical Care'

A study in JAMA Neurology showed a blood test for Alzheimer's accurately read levels of beta-amyloid protein in all stages of the disease, reports Medical News Today . The researchers explored the use of a "fully automated immunoassay" for detecting beta-amyloid in a population sample that included people with Alzheimer's, people with mild cognitive impairment, and people with neither condition. Two cross-sectional studies were performed to investigate the accuracy of the test in 842 participants, and in an separate validation cohort of 237 participants. Lund University's Oskar Hansson said the blood test "accurately predicted cerebral beta-amyloid status in all stages of Alzheimer disease." He added, "We are starting to approach a level of accuracy that is usable in routine clinical care around the world." According to the researchers, using the assay to prescreen participants for Alzheimer's clinical trials would "minimize the number of unnecessary (beta-amyloid-negative) lumbar punctures and beta-amyloid PET scans, as well as lowering the costs for the examinations up to 30-50 percent, depending on the cutoff."