Today at the International Alzheimer’s Congress (AAIC) in Amsterdam, new guidelines for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease were unveiled.
These criteria, developed by international clinicians and researchers, recommend diagnosing the disease using blood biomarkers, similar to the diagnostic approach for major diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
In recent years, a blood test has been developed to aid in Alzheimer’s detection. This test, according to recent research, yields highly accurate results.
Charlotte Teunissen, Professor of Neurochemistry at Amsterdam UMC, played a role in establishing these new guidelines and notes, “A new generation of biomarkers is now available to detect Alzheimer’s disease more and more effectively.
While we’ve gained extensive experience with this test at our Alzheimer’s center, it could also be successfully implemented following a GP’s referral in the long run.”
A new study from Amsterdam UMC and Alzheimer Nederland reveals that many individuals experiencing cognitive symptoms express a strong desire to know whether they are in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
A confirmed diagnosis empowers patients to take greater control of their future.
The increasing demand to know one’s Alzheimer’s status further underscores the significance of using blood biomarkers, which can also open doors to treatment.
Blood tests offer an affordable and widely accessible method for Alzheimer’s detection.
While previously only specialized clinics could perform such tests for a diagnosis, recent Swedish research presented at the ADPD conference in March demonstrated that biomarkers could be more reliable than a primary care physician’s analysis.
Compared to existing methods – analyzing cerebrospinal fluid obtained through an invasive lumbar puncture or employing costly PET scans – the blood test is much less stressful for patients.
These traditional methods are expected to become less necessary in diagnosing Alzheimer’s in the future.
The new guidelines were developed by an international committee of practitioners and researchers on behalf of the International Alzheimer’s Association and the American National Institute on Aging.
Earlier definitions of Alzheimer’s relied on identifying brain pathology and cognitive decline symptomatic of the disease. However, under the new guidelines, Alzheimer’s is diagnosed using biomarkers.
Several of these biomarkers have demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance and have been clinically validated in recent years. More are in the pipeline.
This new approach to diagnosing Alzheimer’s is increasingly significant given recent advancements in targeted therapies such as lecanemab, which has already received approval in the US for Alzheimer’s treatment.
Currently, these drugs are under review by the EMA in the EU.
If you care about Alzheimer’s disease, please read studies that COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease are connected, and this new method shows great potential for treating Alzheimer’s disease.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about new non-drug treatment that may help prevent Alzheimer’s effectively, and results show these 2 personality traits may protect you from Alzheimer’s disease.
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