One of the main goals of Alzheimer's research is to find ways of detecting the disease earlier. The effects of Alzheimer’s on the brain can begin before the patient is symptomatic, making early detection and treatment critical. The blood test has been 93% accurate in studies so far, but future research will need to show that the blood test is detecting AD and not different neurological disorders before it is used in clinical practice.
The team at the Saarland University, in Germany, analysed 140 microRNAs (fragments of genetic code) in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in healthy people.
They found 12 microRNAs in the blood which were present in markedly different levels in people with Alzheimer's. These became the basis of their test.
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