New blood test for Alzheimer's disease

Yet another blood test for Alzheimer's disease is being developed--this time by a group of Japanese researchers. The technique could, if approved, be used to screen patients who show no signs of neurodegeneration. 

Chemistry Nobel laureate Koichi Tanaka, MD, PhD, and colleagues developed the technique in a collaboration between Shimazu and the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology in Aichi, Japan. A study was first published in a Japan Academy journal, according to this Japan Times report.

“The amount of blood necessary for a test is just 0.5 cc. We’d like to make it one of the options attached to regular health checks in the future,” said Tanaka. 

Researchers used PET to study the efficacy of the blood test in 62 male and female subjects somewhere between 65 and 85 years of age. The test is being used to detect trace amounts of proteins associated with beta-amyloid deposition and other factors of Alzheimer's disease.