Blood test shows 87% reliability in detecting Alzheimer's-related brain changes years earlier

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By Olivia Bowthorpe

A blood test measuring a protein in blood can accurately identify people at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease long before they experience any memory or thinking problems.

The research, published in JAMA Neurology, analysed data from just over 7,800 people across 18 studies. It showed that a blood test measuring p-tau217 – a specific form of tau protein that becomes elevated when Alzheimer's-related damage begins in the brain – can accurately detect the disease in its earliest stages.