This Blood Test Paves the Way to Cheap Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

When it comes to Alzheimer's, one of the biggest hurdles patients face is actually testing and getting a confirmed diagnosis for the disease. Tried and true methods that include brain imaging with MRI scanners, and spinal fluid tests, can be incredibly expensive. A lot of communities throughout the world don’t even have access to these tools. This creates an accessibility nightmare for folks who potentially have Alzheimer’s—and results in people of color being disproportionately impacted.

That’s why researchers have long sought new ways to diagnose the neurodegenerative disease. One of the methods involves blood tests, which could potentially reveal specific biomarkers that indicate Alzheimer’s in an accessible and cost-effective way. But many of them have so far failed to be a reliable diagnostic for the disease due to their inability to pick up on neurodegeneration biomarkers—that is, until now.

In a study published on Dec. 27 in the journal Brain, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a new test for Alzheimer’s disease that can pick up on neurodegeneration via a blood sample. The study’s authors claim that the new method outperforms other blood tests for Alzheimer’s and could make diagnosing the disease more accessible while cutting down on costs.

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