NEW YORK: A blood test can detect Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms become apparent, a study has shown.
Researchers made the finding after testing 100 people for genetic material called microRNA, which circulates in the bloodstream.
They found that people with Alzheimer’s disease, or likely to develop it, had a particular genetic signature which distinguishes them from healthy people.
Researchers studied the blood of 100 people, whose average age was 80, as part of the study.
The group included healthy individuals with and without a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, people with mild cognitive impairment, and those who had been diagnosed with the disease.
One in five healthy people in the study tested positive for the genetic signature, putting them at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Brain imaging conducted as part of the study showed these patients had signs of brain degeneration that is suggestive of Alzheimer’s disease…