New Delhi, Jan 6 Simple finger-prick blood samples that can be collected at home and mailed to laboratories without refrigeration or prior processing can help detect Alzheimer's disease biomarkers accurately, according to an international study.
The research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, represents the first large-scale validation of the accessible testing approach that removes geographic barriers and opens brain disease research to global populations without requiring specialised health care infrastructure.
Alzheimer's disease is usually confirmed through brain scans or spinal fluid tests, which are invasive and expensive. Blood tests that measure biomarkers, such as p-tau217, are emerging as accurate and accessible tools for detecting Alzheimer's disease.
"This breakthrough could fundamentally change how we conduct Alzheimer's research by proving that the same biomarkers doctors use to detect Alzheimer's pathology can be measured from a simple finger prick collected at home or in more remote community settings,” said Professor Nicholas Ashton, senior director of US-based Banner Health.
"Ultimately, we are moving toward a pathway of treating people for Alzheimer's disease before symptoms emerge. If this trajectory continues, we will need innovative ways to identify eligible individuals who are not routinely presenting in clinical settings. This work represents one such approach in that direction, and further validation remains," he added.
The researchers tested the new method using a few drops of blood obtained from the fingertip and then dried on a card. This process was used to find proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease and other brain changes in the 337 participants across seven European medical centres.
The study found that levels of p-tau217 in finger-prick samples closely matched results from standard blood tests and were able to identify Alzheimer's disease-related changes in spinal fluid with an accuracy of 86 per cent.
Two other markers, GFAP and NfL, were also successfully measured and showed strong agreement with traditional tests.
While not ready for clinical use, this breakthrough addresses critical barriers in Alzheimer's research by enabling remote participation in studies, clinical trial recruitment and monitoring, broader population sampling for epidemiological research, and inclusion of underrepresented communities and regions with limited health care infrastructure.
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