Blood test may spot dementia

In a study that compared 500 Alzheimer's patients with a group of healthy older people, the researchers found that the Alzheimer's patients had higher levels of two certain types of proteins in their blood, BBC News reported.

"We found some evidence that there are protein differences in the blood of people with Alzheimer's," said study leader Professor Simon Lovestone. "This raises the prospect of a blood test for Alzheimer's disease."

The findings were published in the journal Brain.

Being able to diagnose Alzheimer's disease at an early stage would mean that treatments could begin much sooner, BBC News reported.

"As new treatments that target the early stages of Alzheimer's disease are developed, it is very important that we find a way of diagnosing the disease as early as possible," said Professor Clive Ballard of the Alzheimer's Society in the UK "A blood test could help people receive treatments before symptoms develop, allowing doctors to give patients treatments that can help stabilise a person's condition much earlier," he noted. – (HealthDayNews)

October 2006