Blood Test May Predict Alzheimer's Disease

Oct. 14, 2007 — -- Alzheimer's experts are optimistic that a new type of blood test could one day allow doctors to accurately predict one's risk of developing the degenerative disease.

While prior research has suggested that imaging techniques and tests on spinal fluid could also be used to predict the risk of Alzheimer's, a study published in the current issue of the journal Nature Medicine suggests that this goal could be accomplished with a simple blood draw.

Such a test, if proven effective, would be less costly than imaging techniques and less invasive than a spinal tap.

Lead study author Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray, associate professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., said the test would not only identify the presence of Alzheimer's, but would also provide clues as to whom is on a path to develop the condition.

Researchers compared a total of 259 blood plasma samples -- some from patients with Alzheimer's, and the rest from patients without the disease.

What they found were 18 signaling proteins in the blood plasma that were 90 percent accurate in classifying those who may develop Alzheimer's disease two to six years later.

Thus, by taking a sample of blood and examining the proteins in the plasma, he explained, a doctor "may get an idea if a disease process is going on. ... We are almost listening to the language of cells."

Although Wyss-Coray said that the test will not be available for "a couple of years," he is already excited about its implications.

"It might be possible to get a sample of blood to determine if they [the patients] are on a path or have it [Alzheimer's]," he said.

Others in the field are equally optimistic. Dr. Paul Kettl, professor of psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine, said these results are "more significant, and success rates are better" compared to other potential tests.

The study, however, is not the first to suggest the possibility of an effective screening measure for Alzheimer's. Indeed, many whose lives are affected by the disease may be reluctant to hope that this research will yield results, since many previous studies have as yet failed to manifest life-altering advances.