Many people worry about losing their memory as they get older. Forgetting names, struggling to focus, or becoming confused can sometimes be early signs of dementia, a condition that affects memory, thinking, and daily life.
Dementia is becoming more common across the world as populations age. It is estimated that millions of people are currently living with dementia, and the number is expected to rise sharply in the coming decades.
Alzheimer’s disease is the best-known form of dementia. It slowly damages brain cells over time, making it harder for people to remember information, solve problems, communicate, and care for themselves.
Doctors say one of the biggest challenges is that dementia is often diagnosed too late. Brain changes can begin many years before symptoms become obvious enough for medical diagnosis.
This delay means many people miss the opportunity for early treatment, planning, and support.
Now, a new study from researchers at the University of Exeter suggests that detecting dementia risk could someday become much easier.
Instead of requiring hospital appointments or expensive brain scans, scientists say a simple finger-prick blood test combined with online brain testing may help identify people at risk from the comfort of their own homes.
The research was published in Nature Communications. The scientific paper is titled “Alzheimer’s Disease blood biomarkers measured through remote capillary sampling correlate with cognition in older adults.”
The study focused on proteins in the blood that are linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers examined two important proteins called Ptau 217 and Gfap. Higher levels of these proteins may signal changes happening inside the brain before severe symptoms appear.
Ptau 217 is especially connected to Alzheimer’s disease, while Gfap is linked to broader brain injury and decline.
Scientists believe these proteins may work as biomarkers, which are biological warning signs that can help detect disease processes early.
The study was led by Professor Anne Corbett from the University of Exeter Medical School.
The research was carried out using the PROTECT study, a large online research project involving more than 30,000 adults aged over 40 across the United Kingdom.
Participants in PROTECT regularly complete online tests designed to measure memory, attention, concentration, and decision-making skills.
For this particular project, 174 participants completed at-home blood testing using finger-prick kits sent through the mail.
Participants collected their own blood samples at home and mailed them back to the research team for laboratory analysis.
The researchers then compared blood protein levels with performance on the online cognitive tests.
The results were encouraging.
People with higher levels of the dementia-related proteins generally showed poorer performance on memory and thinking tests. The strongest connection was seen with the protein Ptau 217.
By combining blood results and brain test performance, researchers were able to divide people into low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk groups for dementia.
The scientists believe this approach could eventually become a practical screening tool that helps identify people needing further medical evaluation.
Currently, diagnosing dementia can be a slow and difficult process. Patients often need referrals to specialists, hospital appointments, memory clinics, brain scans, and lengthy assessments.
Many healthcare systems are already under pressure because of the growing number of older adults needing care.
Researchers say home-based testing could make dementia screening simpler, cheaper, and easier to access for large numbers of people.
It could also help identify people much earlier, when treatments and lifestyle changes may have the greatest impact.
Professor Corbett explained that earlier research had already proven finger-prick blood testing could successfully measure dementia-related proteins. This new study is important because it shows these blood changes are also linked to real differences in memory and thinking ability.
Professor Clive Ballard, who was also involved in the research, said only a very small number of people with early signs of cognitive decline currently receive specialist evaluation.
He believes combining blood testing with online brain assessments may help doctors find high-risk patients much earlier and improve access to care.
The researchers say the system could work in several ways. People at high risk may be prioritized for scans, specialist care, or future treatments. Those at low risk may gain reassurance. People at medium risk could receive monitoring and advice on protecting brain health through exercise, healthy eating, sleep, and controlling blood pressure.
Scientists are especially excited because newer Alzheimer’s treatments appear to work best during the earliest stages of disease.
However, researchers stress that more studies are still needed before this testing approach can become part of normal healthcare.
The study involved a relatively small number of participants for the blood-testing portion, so larger studies are necessary to confirm the findings.
Scientists also need to understand how other health conditions, medications, and lifestyle factors might influence blood protein levels.
Even so, the study represents a major step toward easier dementia screening and earlier intervention.
Researchers hope that future home-based testing systems may help millions of people receive earlier answers, earlier support, and better opportunities to protect brain health as they age.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and flavonoid-rich foods could help prevent dementia.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that cranberries could help boost memory, and how alcohol, coffee and tea intake influence cognitive decline.
Source: University of Exeter.
