Thousands of Britons to receive cheap blood tests for Alzheimer’s in landmark trials to improve ‘shocking’ NHS diagnosis rates

Cheap blood tests to detect Alzheimer’s will be rolled out to thousands of Britons in landmark trials which doctors hope will improve the NHS’s “shocking” diagnosis rates.

The tests have proven to be very effective in research settings, but now scientists want to prove that they work outside the laboratory.

They look for proteins related to dementias, including Alzheimer’s, in patients’ blood samples.

And not only would they provide a cheap alternative (they cost around £100) but they could give patients clarity about their condition much sooner.

The trials, which are expected to cost £10 million, could even help in the introduction of a new type of treatment against the disease that requires early diagnosis.

Dr Sheona Scales, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, told The Times there is a “real and urgent need to review the way people are diagnosed”.

He continued: ‘Only two per cent receive PET (positron emission tomography) brain scans or wood punctures that can provide a definitive assessment. This is especially worrying for doctors now that drugs are beginning to be tested that can slow Alzheimer’s, as long as it is identified early.

“We really need early and accurate diagnosis so that patients can plan their lives and access treatments.”

Teams at UCL and Oxford have been commissioned to investigate the evidence in trials sponsored by Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s Society.

They will be carried out across the UK and will assess people who have already seen their doctor with concerns about memory loss.

This is the point where the NHS would normally start trying to diagnose your condition, although many of the current ways of finding out rely on cognitive testing.

UCL neurology professor Jonathan Schott, who will carry out a trial with 1,100 people to see if the new tests could speed up the diagnosis period.

The trials will also test the importance of early diagnosis: half of those examined will receive the news after three months and the other after 12.

He told The Times that the new tests are “a game changer.” And he added: ‘The basis of medicine is diagnosis. Understanding the processes that lead to the disease, treating people and conducting clinical trials – diagnosis is absolutely key.’

A second trial with almost 4,000 people will evaluate another group of blood tests to see if they can detect a variety of forms of dementia.

Scientists will also study whether the tests can be administered in different ways, such as through a finger prick or sent by mail.