Alzheimer's disease blood test just as accurate as other exams, researchers say

BOSTON - A blood test could soon be used to identify patients with Alzheimer's disease.

A new study finds the test is just as accurate as other tests currently used to diagnose the disease.

The blood test looks for the presence of a protein called phosphorylated tau, or p-tau, which is a biomarker for the build-up of damaging proteins in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. Currently, patients need to undergo special brain scans or spinal taps to look for the presence of these proteins in the brain but the tests can be expensive and invasive.

In a new study published in the journal JAMA Neurology, researchers in Europe discovered that the blood test was just as accurate as brain scans and spinal taps. Not only could the blood test help identify people early in disease when they could benefit from treatment but it could also help exclude Alzheimer's as a diagnosis allowing doctors to search for other treatable causes of a patient's mental decline.

The blood test is commercially available for research purposes, but scientists expect it to be available for use on patients soon.

In:
• Health
• Alzheimer's Disease

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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