Scientists Nearer to Alzheimer’s Disease Blood Test

One of the most difficult things some Alzheimer’s sufferers have to deal with is the uncertainty. Unlike many other conditions, there is no black & white test to tell if you have Alzheimer’s. The diagnosis has always been dependent on a doctor interpreting a wide range of symptoms, many of which are also associated with other conditions. Now comes word that a blood test for Alzheimer’s may be available soon.

An experimental blood test was highly accurate at distinguishing people with Alzheimer’s disease from those without it in several studies, boosting hopes that there soon may be a simple way to help diagnose this most common form of dementia.

[.]But Tuesday’s results suggest they’re on the right track. The testing identified people with Alzheimer’s vs. no dementia or other types of it with accuracy ranging from 89% to 98%.

“That’s pretty good. We’ve never seen that” much precision in previous efforts, said Maria Carrillo, the Alzheimer’s Association’s chief science officer.

The usual caveats apply here: a test is still years away, and while we can treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s there’s no codified treatment that is proven to slow cognitive decline. However, a blood test means more, early diagnoses, which means more early treatment of the symptoms and a better chance to give people longer and richer lives.

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