New Blood Test Could Diagnose Early Alzheimer’s

Researchers at Otago University in New Zealand believe a simple blood test could become the new way to diagnose early Alzheimer’s disease.

The website, News Ghana, reported that researchers at the university found that the specific set of blood microRNA could detect Alzheimer’s disease correctly 86% of the time.

“We know that the levels of these microRNA differ in people who have Alzheimer’s and people who don’t," said Dr. Joanna Williams, one of the researchers. "So if a GP took a blood sample from a patient who was beginning to show symptoms of memory loss, what we’d do is analyze that blood and see how that patient’s pattern of microRNA compares against established patterns."

The test, according to the article, would be "quick and easy to administer, relatively inexpensive and readily available."