A groundbreaking study led by Dr. Ashvini Keshavan, a Senior Clinical Research and Honorary Consultant Neurologist Fellow at University College London (UCL), is set to transform dementia diagnosis. This world-class research team, awarded a significant grant, aims to advance recent breakthroughs in potential dementia blood tests and pave the way for their widespread use within the next five years.
Dr. Keshavan’s team will focus on the most promising biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease, p-tau217, while a second team from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge will explore various proteins to detect different dementia-causing diseases.
Recruiting participants across the UK, the study aims for a cost-effective rollout on the National Health Service (NHS) to ensure broader access to these tests, particularly for early dementia or mild cognitive problems.
The initiative, funded by the Blood Biomarker Challenge, a multi-million-pound award from Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Research, and Gates Ventures, is a collaborative effort to harness the potential of blood tests in dementia diagnosis.
Dr. Keshavan emphasizes the significance of these tests, stating, “Proteins underlying dementia-causing diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s, are now detectable in blood.” The studies seek to confirm the utility of blood tests in diagnosing these diseases and broaden access, addressing the current limitations of expensive or invasive tests.
The UCL-led study, ADAPT, focuses on plasma p-tau217 to improve Alzheimer’s diagnosis rates alongside standard memory clinic assessments. The READ-OUT study aims to test various proteins for detecting dementia-causing diseases.
Dr. Keshavan underscores the potential impact: “If our research shows these tests are clinically useful and cost-effective, they could become part of standard care in the UK, leading to earlier diagnoses and appropriate treatments.”
Professor Jonathan Schott, Alzheimer’s Research UK Chief Medical Officer, highlights the importance of early diagnosis in accessing care and potential treatments.
With current diagnosis methods less accurate and accessible, blood tests offer a promising solution. Dr. Vanessa Raymont, Associate Director of Dementias Platform UK, emphasizes the importance of timely diagnosis based on her personal experience with dementia.
Blood tests are seen as integral to addressing the dementia challenge, offering quick, easy, and cost-effective alternatives to current diagnostic methods.