A blood test could predict the risk of Alzheimer’s disease
High-tech analysis picks up minuscule bits of amyloid-beta floating in plasma
A new blood test might reveal whether someone is at risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease.
The test measures blood plasma levels of a sticky protein called amyloid-beta. This protein can start building up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients decades before there’s any outward signs of the disease. Typically, it takes a brain scan or spinal tap to discover these A-beta clumps, or plaques, in the brain. But evidence is growing that A-beta levels in the blood can be used to predict whether or not a person has these brain plaques, researchers report online January 31 in Nature.