This New Blood Test Can Detect Risk for Alzheimer’s!

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men are at risk of Alzheimer’s disease at just 45 years of age.

This early onset Alzheimer’s does not mean that the person suddenly developed Alzheimer’s. It means that the person had Alzheimer’s 10 years prior to the actual appearance of the symptoms.

1. Why Diagnose Early Onset Alzheimer’s?

The Alzheimer’s Association states that there can be several risk factors for the disease. However, till now, Alzheimer’s did not have any blood tests for diagnosis. As a result, Alzheimer’s disease treatments begin only when the patient shows the symptoms after 10 years.

This recent discovery reveals that detecting autoantibodies in the blood can determine Alzheimer’s risk factors early on. This technique can also help detect illnesses like breast cancer, Parkinson’s, and schizophrenia.

The debris left by the disease and the autoantibodies can help detect these illnesses for early intervention and treatment.

This is very important to the patient because if it is detected early, they can get early intervention through Alzheimer’s medication.

2. Does Alzheimer’s Disease Medication Help After Early Diagnosis?

This neurodegenerative disease does not have any cure as yet. Alzheimer’s disease treatments only attempt to slow down the degenerative speed of the disease but cannot cure it. Alzheimer’s is a disease that has 100% fatality. In the USA, Alzheimer’s is the seventh most common cause of death.

However, if the test diagnoses the patient with Alzheimer’s early on, doctors can prescribe the necessary Alzheimer’s medication before symptoms show.

It could potentially slow down the speed of the degeneration of brain cells. Other intervention techniques could include inculcating mind games in the person’s daily routine that can help strengthen the brain muscle.

If diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are detected 8-10 years before the symptoms appear, it can help reduce the Alzheimer’s risk factors and improve the responsiveness to treatment.

However, this blood test is still in the trial phase. It is still unknown when the blood test will be approved to be employed in laboratories and hospitals.

Even if it is unavailable now, it is good news for people with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in their family history. They can begin taking Alzheimer’s disease medication as soon as the blood test reveals the autoantibodies for the disease.

Final Words

Alzheimer’s is among the underlying causes behind most fatalities in the USA. Also, there is no cure for the disease, making it scarier for people with a family history of the disease.

This new blood test can predict Alzheimer’s with 96% accuracy and around 8-10 years before the symptoms start showing. If this blood test passes the trial rounds, it will be a great way to detect Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and even breast cancer early on.

This way, the patient can start taking the medications early to lower the speed of the process as much as possible.