There was huge public interest when, a few years ago, Oskar Hansson’s research group at Lund University, Sweden announced the discovery of blood-based biomarkers that could be used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. We now know that a simple blood test can discover the disease even before the patient has shown any symptoms. Read more about how Swedish researchers diagnose Alzheimer’s at an early stage.
It can take several years before Alzheimer’s disease breaks out so that family and friends notice it. For most people who get Alzheimer’s, poorer memory is the first symptom. Many receive the diagnosis at a late stage, when the disease has become a noticeable problem for themselves and their family.
The commercially available blood test has now been trialed in routine healthcare. “The blood test showed about 90% reliability even in primary care. This may have major implications for all those individuals who seek help for memory loss and suspected Alzheimer’s,” say the researchers behind the study.
However, much remains to be done before the method can be used on a large scale in primary healthcare. Now, Oskar Hansson’s Torsten Söderberg Academy Professorship in Medicine has been granted ten million Swedish kronor over a period of five years.
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Last year, Oskar Hansson was awarded the ERC Advanced Grant worth EUR 2.5 million to further develop and advance his research project. “This type of stable, long-term funding is incredibly important for planning our research. It gives us new opportunities to really push this project forward and to conduct bolder research. It is also a huge honor, both personally and for my entire research team in Lund,” says Oskar Hansson, professor at Lund’s University.
Alzheimer’s disease affects one in five women and one in ten men over their lifetimes, but diagnostic tools remain cumbersome and often inaccessible in primary care. While specialist memory clinics often utilize advanced diagnostic methods such as PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid tests, there is a pressing need for simpler and quicker diagnostic tools for use in primary care.
The biomarker Plasma Phospo-Tau217 is the key behind the new blood test that can reveal Alzheimer’s. “If we look at the loss of good life quality in years, then dementia diseases are the most rapidly increasing cause. And, if we look simply at the economics, these diseases cost society a huge amount because the elderly people who are affected cannot look after themselves in the long run,” says Oskar Hansson.
The research into this innovative blood testing method began in 2019. The studies indicate that the blood test can detect Alzheimer’s-related changes before symptoms are evident and track progression as the disease advances.
Hansson is now in the USA to present the study at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. It starts today in Philadelphia. At the same time, the Swedish study on the blood test is published in the renowned Journal of the American Medical Association.
Twenty years ago, when Hansson started working in this field, methods were based on deciding who had the disease purely by their symptoms.
The study at Lund included 1,213 individuals experiencing mild memory symptoms, a potential early sign of Alzheimer’s. Of these, 515 were evaluated in primary care and 698 in a specialist memory clinic. These patients were tested using the blood test, and the test results were then confirmed with cerebrospinal fluid tests that can indicate Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
It is sufficient to take the blood test only once. Hansson explains that the blood test is so safe that most patients can avoid more complicated examinations.
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FACTS about the blood test
The blood test shows positive or negative results for Alzheimer’s disease but can also indicate if the result is unclear and further investigation with a PET-camera or cerebrospinal fluid test is required for a more secure diagnosis.
The blood test measures the relationship between phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated versions of the tau217 protein, a biomarker in the blood that is specific to Alzheimer’s disease. Tau is a protein that stabilizes a structure in the cells called microtubules, which are important to the transport system within the cell. In Alzheimer’s disease, the tau proteins become hyperphosphorylated and then form neurofibrillary tangles, which are strongly linked to cognitive ability being affected. Phosphorylation means that one or more group of phosphates binds to the protein.
The study is underway at more than 20 health centers in south-west Skåne and the memory clinic at Skåne University Hospital.
FACTS about Torsten Söderberg Academy Professorship in Medicine
The Academy Professorship promotes internationally leading medical research by allowing holders to devote themselves to full-time research at a Swedish medical faculty for five years. The Torsten Söderberg Foundation donates ten million kronor to each Academy Professorship. Five of these run in parallel. The appointments are considered and decided by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences using a peer review process.
Swedish Researchers Diagnose Alzheimer’s at an Early Stage, written by Tor Kjolberg, based on a press release.