20 December 2022
A new opinion paper published in the Royal Australasian College of Physicians’ (RACP) Internal Medicine Journal suggests that a blood test to help diagnose dementia in patients could be available to doctors in Australia within years.
The paper summarised several global research projects, including studies in Australia, and reported growing excitement among scientists that a highly specialised diagnostic technique to identify blood-based dementia biomarkers could be on the cusp of being approved to use on patients, potentially revolutionising diagnosis and care for the deadly degenerative disease.
Author of the paper, Dr Paula Loveland, Geriatric Medicine specialist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and WEHI (the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research), says “There is significant global momentum around the development of a simple blood test as an early diagnostic tool for dementia. It is feasible that this tool could be available for doctors within a handful of years, making dementia diagnosis simpler and more widely available.”
“A simple blood test being used as an early marker of dementia would be transformative for patients and doctors alike, particularly those living in regional and remote regions of Australia where access to specialist services is limited,” Dr Loveland said.
“Early detection and diagnosis of dementia is very difficult. By the time patients start presenting to their doctor with symptoms, the disease is often already advanced. A blood test would save the community a lot of time and money.
“It’s an important piece of the puzzle and could help doctors catch the early signs of the disease in their patients, helping them get the treatment they need. The fact we may be only a few years away from this reality should excite everyone.
“Dementia is a devastating disease that currently has no cure. However, there is hope on the horizon. A simple blood test could help early diagnosis and will be essential for clinical dementia research and possible therapeutic development.”
“Techniques that reliably and sensitively measure dementia-specific biomarkers in blood have now been developed and commercialised for research purposes. When this becomes widely available it will be a game-changer for early detection and early diagnosis for dementia.”
Dementia is a leading cause of disability and death among older Australians, and its prevalence is increasing. By 2050 it is estimated one million Australians will be diagnosed with dementia, putting a tremendous strain on our society.
At present, diagnosing dementia presents a challenge for physicians. Currently, patients have to undergo comprehensive assessment by a number of healthcare providers, brain scans, and potentially invasive procedures such as a spinal tap for cerebrospinal fluid.
The paper particularly identified research around Neurofilament light chain (NfL), which is a tiny molecule the brain releases when it is under stress. Clinical research around the world is showing that NfL can detect degrees of neurodegeneration with a high accuracy, and provide useful discrimination from other dementia ‘mimics’ like depression and other mental health disorders.