Clinicians and researchers from around the world presented on Sunday new guidelines for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease, at the International Alzheimer’s Congress (AAIC) in Amsterdam.
In these criteria, the disease is diagnosed in the clinic through the use of blood biomarkers, just as with other major diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A blood test has been developed for this purpose in recent years that gives very good results, according to recent research.
Charlotte Teunissen, professor of neurochemistry at Amsterdam UMC, was involved in drafting the new guidelines and says, “A new generation of biomarkers is now available to detect Alzheimer’s disease more and more effectively. We have already gained a lot of experience with this in our Alzheimer’s centre, but in the long term the test can also be successfully implemented after a GP’s referral.”
New research by Amsterdam UMC with Alzheimer Nederland shows that many people with cognitive symptoms want to know whether they are in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. A diagnosis enables patients to take more control over the next phase of their lives. The desire to know whether or not you have Alzheimer’s disease makes the use of blood biomarkers so relevant, it is also the gateway to treatment.
A blood test is also a relatively inexpensive method and can be used in many places. Previously, only specialised clinics could do a proper analysis, and thus offer a diagnosis, via a blood test.
Previous Swedish research has shown that biomarkers can be more reliable than the analysis of a primary care physician. In addition, the blood test is much less stressful for the patient than the current method.
Currently, Alzheimer’s is diagnosed through the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid, acquired through an invasive lumbar puncture, or via an expensive PET scan. It is believed that both of these methods will soon also be less necessary in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
