Blood test finds toxic Alzheimer’s protein

Joint study shows that the new procedure is more than 90% accurate

Researchers in Japan and Australia have developed a blood test that detects the toxic protein amyloid beta which has been linked to Alzheimer’s brain disease.

The joint study published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday said the test was more than 90 per cent accurate.

The study was based on 252 Australian and 121 Japanese patients aged 60 to 90 years of age, some classed as cognitively normal, others with mild cognitive impairment and some with Alzheimer’s.

The blood test opens the way for possibly far cheaper and less invasive tests for amyloid beta, which builds up in the brain as Alzheimer’s develops, said the researchers.

Currently brain scans or invasive cerebrospinal fluid testing, also known as a spinal tap, are used to ascertain the deposition in the brain of an abnormal protein, called amyloid beta. Some brain imaging tests can cost more than 150,000 yen ($915).

“Our blood test may ... have a transformative potential to facilitate the development of effective drugs for Alzheimer’s disease,” Katsuhiko Yanagisawa, directorgeneral of the Japanese National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology’s research institute, said in a statement.