A blood test that diagnoses Alzheimer's years before symptoms develop could be on the horizon. Scientists have identified chemicals linked to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) - an early sign of the disease.
It could lead to drugs or lifestyle changes being prescribed when they are most likely to be effective. Corresponding author Professor Bin Xu, of North Carolina Central University, said: "Our work provides a new avenue for developing diagnosis and differentiation tools for Alzheimer's."
The discovery offers hope of national screening programs. It is based on post-mortem brain tissue from patients who died with and without the disease. Specific forms of a rogue protein, known as p-tau198 and p-tau217, differentiated those with MCI from older subjects without the impairment.
