Simple Blood Test May Detect Alzheimer's

But there's still no cure
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 6, 2011 6:20 PM CST
Simple Blood Test May Detect Alzheimer's
NeuroQuantTM measures brain atrophy in neurodegenerative disorders. MRI pictures show quantified brain structures of a healthy person and a patient with Alzheimer's disease.   (PRNewsFoto/CorTechs Labs, Inc.)

Researchers say they've found another possible way to detect Alzheimer's, this time through a blood test that looks for antibodies. Though still under development, a diagnostic kit could be available within the year, reports Reuters. The catch: While scientists are getting better at detecting Alzheimer's with such discoveries, they still can't cure the disease.

"It's unclear whether people would want to know a couple of years ahead of time they are going to get Alzheimer's if they can't do anything about it," says a scientist with the Scripps Research Institute. "But I can say with some certainty that we will never get a good therapy for Alzheimer's without early diagnosis." More details here on the science involved in the blood test, which could theoretically work on other diseases such as cancer. (More Alzheimer's disease stories.)

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