Simple blood test that predicts Alzheimer's before symptoms appear available in two years

Scientists have revealed that a simple blood test which is 90% accurate and would cost around £100 - £300 when it is made available in two years.

17:59 08 July 2014

Scientists have confirmed the availability of simple blood test that can predict Alzheimer’s disease in the next two years. The test is 90per cent accurate and can detect the disease before recognisable symptoms appear.

The test, which is likely to cost £100 - £300, is expected to help about 600,000 people every year who are suffering from the devastating brain illness.

Researchers revealed that they have investigated 26 proteins that are previously associated with Alzheimer’s disease. They have identified 10 blood proteins that appeared in 87per cent of MCI patients that are diagnosed with the disease within a year.

One of the test's inventors Professor Simon Lovestone, from King's College London, said: "Alzheimer's begins to affect the brain many years before patients are diagnosed with the disease. Many of our drug trials fail because by the time patients are given the drugs, the brain has already been too severely affected.

"A simple blood test could help us identify patients at a much earlier stage to take part in new trials and hopefully develop treatments which could prevent the progression of the disease.

"The next step will be to validate our findings in further sample sets, to see if we can improve accuracy and reduce the risk of misdiagnosis, and to develop a reliable test suitable to be used by doctors."