Simple blood test for Alzheimer's disease could change how the disease is detected and diagnosed

Trinity researchers have examined the effectiveness of a new blood test which could change the way Alzheimer's disease is identified. The blood test (plasma p-tau217) detects the presence of amyloid plaques that build up in the brain of people with Alzheimer's disease. In the Alzheimer's brain, abnormal levels of this naturally occurring protein clump together to form plaques that disrupt normal cell function.

A paper published in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy outlines a study undertaken by the Institute of Memory & Cognition at Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) which could change the way Alzheimer's disease is detected. Researchers wanted to know if a simple blood test would be easier and more accurate than a lumbar puncture ( spinal tap ), which currently is the only method to detect amyloid plaques . The lumbar puncture is invasive, and scans are limited in their availability.

The use of blood tests has clear advantages over both of these methods; being less invasive, more straightforward for patients, easier to scale up and less costly. Using samples from the biobank at the TUH Institute of Memory and Cognition, study lead, Dr. Adam Dyer, examined the performance of the new blood test.

Adam is a geriatric medicine trainee at Tallaght University Hospital and Medical Gerontology, Trinity College Dublin. Patients who are undergoing a diagnostic lumbar puncture for the detection of Alzheimer's disease at TUH opt to donate cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples for future res.