Headlines like ‘A simple test to diagnose dementia’ or ‘New blood test improves diagnosis of dementia’ appear in the media every other day.
You could be forgiven for thinking, ‘why is diagnosis so important?’. Especially as treatments that can stop diseases like Alzheimer's disease from progressing aren’t available in the UK yet.
However, with clinical trials now showing positive results, an early and accurate diagnosis will be important to find those that are eligible for disease modifying treatments when they are available.
It’s important to also remember there are lots of ways we can support people to live well with dementia, even in the absence of drugs to slow the progression.
Also, even though diagnosis rates are improving across the UK, but there are still many people living in limbo with symptoms they don’t fully understand.
Sadly, the tests used to diagnose people today are not always accurate and it can take months or even years to get the right diagnosis.
What our research in dementia diagnoses tells us
July 2019
Exciting research from the United States tested a blood test in 158 people. It was 94 per cent accurate in identifying who would go on to get Alzheimer's disease. This was a huge breakthrough and proceeded to go through further testing with a larger group of people.
March 2020
A blood test that detects a form of the protein tau, showed early signs that it might be used to differentiate between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
It is early days for this test but shows again how fast this area of research is moving.
Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research Officer at Alzheimer’s Society, said:
'A quick and easy blood test that can differentiate between Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia or mild cognitive impairment would be an invaluable tool revolutionising the search for new treatments.'
February 2023
Recent research from the USA has improved the accuracy of blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh developed a blood test that detects a specific form of tau that only comes from the brain. The test can detect Alzheimer’s disease with an accuracy of 86-99%.
Another group at the University of Washington, USA has developed a way of detecting a toxic form of amyloid in the blood, which can detect Alzheimer’s disease with 98% accuracy.
