Scientists at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, have developed a new blood test that may significantly streamline the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. This advancement could improve patient access to emerging treatments, such as Donanemab, which recently received approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for adults exhibiting early symptoms of the disease.
Currently, the standard for detecting amyloid plaque in the brain involves expensive and invasive methods, including PET scans and lumbar punctures. These procedures analyze cerebrospinal fluid and can be a barrier to timely diagnosis. In a study published in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia, researchers found that a combination of two blood tests could match the accuracy of these traditional methods.
Groundbreaking Findings in Blood Testing
The research, led by Dr. James Doecke, a research scientist at CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre (AEHRC), emphasizes the importance of blood tests in the triage process for developing effective treatment strategies. According to Dr. Doecke, “With treatments for Alzheimer’s disease biology becoming available, it’s critical we have accurate, scalable and less invasive tests to identify eligible patients.” He added that the results indicate the blood test combination can effectively confirm Alzheimer’s pathology.
CSIRO’s AEHRC collaborated with Edith Cowan University, The Florey Institute, Labcorp, and other institutions to analyze blood samples from nearly 400 participants sourced from the Australian Imaging, Biomarker and Lifestyle (AIBL) Study of Ageing. The findings revealed that the combined pTau217 and Aβ42/40 ratio tests achieved over 93 percent accuracy, comparable to current cerebrospinal fluid tests. In the intention-to-treat cohort, sensitivity reached an impressive 99 percent, indicating that the tests correctly identified nearly all cases.
Improving Accessibility and Reducing Uncertainty
Utilizing these combined tests has provided clinicians with highly reliable results, significantly reducing the number of uncertain cases by nearly half. This breakthrough is viewed as a critical step towards the broader adoption of blood tests in both clinical trials and everyday medical practices. Colin Masters, Professor of Dementia Research at The Florey Institute and co-author of the study, stated, “This is an important advance towards widespread adoption of blood tests in both clinical trials and everyday practice.”
The implications of this research highlight the potential for blood-based biomarkers to lessen dependence on costly and invasive diagnostic procedures. By making Alzheimer’s diagnosis more accessible to patients and healthcare systems worldwide, this development could reshape the landscape of Alzheimer’s care, offering hope to many who are currently facing the challenges of this debilitating disease.
