Scientists claim to have developed a new blood test which could help detect Alzheimer’s disease years before it takes hold.
A team at the Scripps Research Institute says that the test uses a technique which could detect not only the dementia disease but a whole range of other conditions such as multiple sclerosis and possibly cancer, the Cell journal reported.
“If this works in Alzheimer’s disease, it suggests it is a pretty general platform that may work for a lot of different diseases. Now we need to put it in the hands of disease experts to tackle diseases where early diagnosis is key,” team leader Thomas Kodadek said. In fact, the test uses artificial molecules to “fish” through the blood and find antibodies released to fight disease. These molecules are designed to “match” the antibodies released in patients with dementia.
If a match is found it means the patient suffers with the condition. Molecules can be made to match various diseases.
Other promising applications of the test lie in the diagnosis of dangerous, hard-to-detect cancers like pancreatic cancer, say the scientists. But scientists acknowledge, that an early test for Alzheimer’s may not be useful until further treatment options become available.