A free online test has been taken by over 200,000 people to assess their dementia risk. The test measures attention, visual perception, and memory recall. While dementia is unlikely at age 36, the disease runs in the author’s family, making brain health a priority.
Leading researchers agree that early detection can help pick up signs of impairment. Julie Williams says, “Those sorts of tests can give you some indication of current cognitive deterioration.” However, current testing methods have limitations, including postcode lotteries and limited access to PET scans.
A new clinical trial aims to assess blood tests for Alzheimer’s diagnosis, which could lead to earlier and more accurate diagnoses. The test measures protein levels that can predict the risk of developing dementia in a few years. Some researchers are exploring ways to measure these proteins in dried blood samples from simple finger-pricks.
Testing for Alzheimer’s genes also raises concerns about the ethics of knowing one’s lifetime risk. Experts argue that this knowledge could drive anxiety but also enable people to make informed decisions about their lives. A new blood test aims to rule out Alzheimer’s as a possible cause, allowing individuals to focus on lifestyle changes.
Ongoing research is investigating blood-based tests for various causes of cognitive decline, including Parkinson’s and frontotemporal dementia. Amanda Heslegrave says, “While everyone previously assumed you could never detect Alzheimer’s in the blood, we now realise that we can measure anything, if we try hard enough.”
These innovations bring new hope for early detection and treatment of dementia.
Source: https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/discovered-risk-dementia-20-minute-online-test-4311522