Researchers believe they’ve developed the first blood test that can detect the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in a two-to-three year window, but it still must stand up to scrutiny in clinical trials before potentially landing in doctors’ offices.
The findings were first published in the journal Nature Medicine. Researchers took blood samples from hundreds of men and women older than 70. Of those, 28 developed Alzheimer’s or the cognitive deficiencies that often come before it, CNN reported.
The researchers then identified common lipids present in each of the affected patients and compared them to healthy seniors. According to the report, 54 other patients shared those same lipids. The study was 90 percent effective in predicting Alzheimer’s, the journal reported.
There is not currently a blood test that can predict the onset of the disease, which is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.
