A new study published in the journal, ′Nature Medicine′ have identified that blood tests are most effective for detecting Alzheimer′s disease in its earliest stages, and another blood test is best for identifying significant treatment outcomes.

The study showed that several blood biomarkers, specifically phospho-tau231 and Ab42/40, were sufficient in identifying Alzheimer′s disease pathology, even in participants with no symptoms; hence, could be used as a strategy to select the right people for novel disease-modifying trials, a task that currently requires expensive molecular imaging technique or lumbar punctures.

According to experts, this study has demonstrated that phospho-tau217 is ideally positioned to be an appropriate test for monitoring patients in both clinical and trial settings due to its longitudinal relationship with Alzheimer′s development.

A noteworthy finding of this work was the ability of p-tau217 to track these changes in pathology and cognition at very early stages of the disease process. An independent cohort from the USA, Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimers Prevention (WRAP), confirmed this finding.

The experts stated that new blood tests would transform the diagnosis of Alzheimer′s disease in its early stages and improve the design of clinical studies. Additionally, phospoho-tau217 may be utilized to track each patient′s response to disease-modifying treatments in clinical settings.

(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/blood-tests-are-best-at-detecting-alzheimer-s-disease-study-101669954271507.html)