Way to diagnose Alzheimer’s from blood developed

September 5, 2017

KYODO- A Japanese team of researchers including Takahiko Tokuda, professor at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, have developed what they claim is the world's first method to diagnose Alzheimer's disease from blood.

Although the method will be difficult to use for a definitive diagnosis, it can be used in health checkups on people aged 60 or over, according to Tokuda. The finding by Tokuda's team was posted in a British science magazine on Monday.

Alzheimer's patients have a type of protein called phosphorylated tau built up inside their brains.

Currently, Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed by the examination of extracted spinal fluid. This method is not popular, however, due to reasons such as patients being reluctant to undergo the procedure, according to the group.

The group managed to improve the detection sensitivity of phosphorylated tau in blood to 1,000 times the current levels, by using an ultrasensitive detector developed by US company Quanterix and optimizing the combination of reagents.

After testing the method on 20 patients aged 60-89 years old, the group found that the method had an "intermediate degree of accuracy," Tokuda said. Jiji Press