Thousands of people with memory concerns across the UK will be given blood tests for dementia in two trials, which doctors hope will help improve low diagnosis rates.
A team from the University of Oxford and University College London is leading a trial investigating the use of a cheap and simple test to detect proteins for early stages of dementia and people with cognitive problems, to improve diagnosis. We hope that this will speed up the process and deliver diagnosis to more people.
Currently, a formal diagnosis in the UK requires a mental capacity test, a brain scan or an invasive and painful lumbar puncture to remove a sample of cerebrospinal fluid from the lower back.
Around 1 million people in the UK live with the disease, which is expected to rise to around 1.7 million by 2040, and it can have serious consequences. In 2022, dementia will claim 66,000 lives in England and Wales, and it is now the leading cause of death in the UK, with Alzheimer’s disease accounting for two thirds of cases.
The charity reports patients and their families are waiting up to four years for appointments and results. More than one in three people living with dementia in the UK have yet to receive a formal diagnosis.
This test has been very effective in research settings, so if it proves useful in real life, it could make it easier to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.
These could provide results to patients much faster and accelerate the introduction of new Alzheimer’s disease drugs that rely on early diagnosis. The trial will help determine whether it can be introduced regularly in the NHS.
Fiona Carragher, the influential head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said reliance on specialist tests led to “unnecessary delays, worry and uncertainty” and prevented people from getting the care they needed early on. He said that in many cases he is unable to do so.
“Despite dementia being the UK’s biggest cause of death, a third of people living with dementia are undiagnosed, meaning they are unable to access care and support. “Only 2% of people with dementia receive the specialized tests they need to qualify for new treatments, leading to unnecessary delays, worry and uncertainty,” she said. Stated.
The research team is sponsored by Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s Society, with funding of £5 million from the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Dr Shena Scales, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We have seen the huge potential that blood tests have to improve the diagnostic process for people and their loved ones in other disease areas. We need to see the same gradual changes in the challenge of dementia.
“By working with leading experts in the dementia community, it is great to be able to introduce a cutting-edge blood test for diagnosing dementia within the NHS. This could be key to expanding access to new treatments.”
More than 50 memory clinics across the UK will offer blood tests to around 5,000 volunteers as part of the five-year trial.
Jonathan Schott, chief medical officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, will lead a trial on the most promising blood biomarkers, testing 1,100 people across the UK.
In the second trial, approximately 4,000 people will be tested for multiple dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body dementia.
