Dementia is one of the fastest-growing health problems in the world. Millions of people are currently living with dementia, and the number is expected to rise sharply as populations grow older.
Dementia is not a single disease but a group of conditions that affect memory, thinking, behavior, and the ability to carry out everyday tasks.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. It slowly damages brain cells and can lead to memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, personality changes, and loss of independence over time. Many families are deeply affected by dementia because the condition often requires long-term care and support.
One of the biggest challenges with dementia is that it is often diagnosed too late. In many cases, brain changes begin years before noticeable symptoms appear. By the time people receive a diagnosis, significant damage may already have occurred inside the brain.
Doctors and scientists have been searching for easier ways to detect dementia risk earlier so people can receive treatment, support, and lifestyle guidance as soon as possible.
Now, researchers from the University of Exeter have developed a promising new approach that may help identify dementia risk without requiring hospital visits or complicated medical procedures.
The new study suggests that a simple finger-prick blood test combined with online brain testing, both done entirely from home, could help identify people who may be at higher risk of developing dementia in the future.
The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications. The research paper is titled “Alzheimer’s Disease blood biomarkers measured through remote capillary sampling correlate with cognition in older adults.”
The researchers say the approach could eventually help doctors screen large numbers of people more quickly and cheaply than current methods.
At the moment, diagnosing dementia often involves multiple appointments, memory assessments, brain scans, and specialist evaluations. These tests can be stressful, expensive, and difficult to access, especially for people living far from major medical centers.
The new method aims to simplify the process.
Participants in the study used a small finger-prick device at home to collect a blood sample themselves. The sample was then mailed to a laboratory for testing. At the same time, participants completed online cognitive tests designed to measure memory, attention, and decision-making skills.
The research was led by Professor Anne Corbett from the University of Exeter Medical School.
The team focused on two proteins found in the blood. One protein, called Ptau 217, is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The other protein, called Gfap, is linked to broader brain decline and damage.
Scientists have increasingly been studying these proteins because they may act as “biomarkers.” Biomarkers are biological signs in the body that can help show whether disease processes may already be starting inside the brain.
The study found that higher levels of these proteins were linked to worse performance on the online brain tests. Among the two proteins, Ptau 217 showed the strongest connection with memory and thinking problems.
Using this information, researchers were able to group participants into low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk categories for future dementia.
The study was carried out through the PROTECT study, a large online research project involving more than 30,000 adults in the United Kingdom aged over 40.
Participants in the PROTECT study regularly complete online brain tests to help researchers better understand aging and brain health over time.
For this specific project, researchers focused on 174 participants who completed the at-home blood testing.
Professor Corbett explained that earlier research had already shown that finger-prick blood samples collected at home could successfully measure proteins linked to dementia. This new study builds on those findings by showing that the blood markers also match changes in thinking and memory performance.
Researchers believe this could eventually create a practical way to screen people for dementia risk before severe symptoms appear.
This could have several important benefits.
People identified as high risk could be prioritized for specialist appointments, brain scans, monitoring, support, and possible treatments. Those at lower risk could be reassured and potentially avoid unnecessary testing. People in the middle-risk group could receive advice on lifestyle changes that may help protect brain health.
Scientists say early detection is becoming increasingly important as new dementia treatments are being developed. Some newer therapies appear to work best during the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease, before major brain damage has occurred.
Professor Clive Ballard, also from the University of Exeter Medical School, said the current healthcare system struggles to identify people early enough. He noted that although almost one million people in the UK are estimated to have dementia, very few people with early signs of cognitive decline receive specialist evaluation.
Researchers believe home-based testing could help reduce pressure on healthcare systems while allowing more people to access early screening.
The approach may also be especially useful for older adults who have difficulty traveling to clinics or hospitals.
Professor Marian Knight from the National Institute for Health and Care Research described the findings as exciting because the tests can be done from home, potentially reducing the burden on hospitals and clinics.
She said the approach may help doctors identify dementia earlier, improve treatment decisions, and achieve better outcomes for patients.
Still, researchers caution that more studies are needed before the testing system can become widely available. Larger studies will need to confirm how accurate the method is across different populations and whether it can reliably predict who will later develop dementia.
The study also has some limitations. The participant group was relatively small for the blood testing portion, and researchers still need to understand how factors such as age, education, other health conditions, and medications may affect the results.
However, the findings are an important step toward simpler and more accessible dementia screening.
The study highlights how advances in blood testing and online technology may one day make it possible to detect brain diseases much earlier than before.
Researchers hope that earlier detection could eventually lead to earlier treatment, better planning, healthier aging, and improved quality of life for millions of people worldwide.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about dietary strategies to ward off dementia, and how omega-3 fatty acids fuel your mind.
For more health information, please see recent studies about Choline deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s disease, and what to eat (and avoid) for dementia prevention.
Source: University of Exeter.
