New blood test can predict Alzheimer’s disease 30 years in advance

With the aim to help people take necessary precautions beforehand, scientists have developed a new technique through which Alzheimer’s disease could be predicted 30 years in advance and that too just with the help of a drop of blood.

A team of Japanese and Australian scientists claim to have developed the accurate test for the earliest indication of the brain disease and according to the lead researcher, Colin Masters, the blood test is more than 90% precise.

The study conducted included 373 Australian and Japanese patients. Alzheimer’s starts to develop 30 years prior and obvious symptoms such as memory loss emerge. The test detected the building up of an abnormal protein in brain called beta-amyloid. It detects the protein built-up without any outward signs of the disease and also of those with moderate symptoms, reported The Guardian.

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The early detection of the disease could help people take precautions and better care of themselves through proper sleep, diet and exercise. “If a person knows they are on this pathway well before the onset of any cognitive impairment, some would want to alter their lifestyles,” said Masters.

However, there are further tests to be conducted regarding the technique. Also, scientists believe that through such tests, soon a cure could be found of Alzheimer’s, as per Science Alert.

“I can see in the future, five years from now, where people have a regular checkup every five years after age 55 or 60 to determine whether they are on the Alzheimer’s pathway or not. This new test has the potential to eventually disrupt the expensive and invasive scanning and spinal fluid technologies,” said Masters. The study has been published in the journal Nature.