Bing:
The page is a news article from The Sun, published on June 8, 2023. It reports that a new blood test for Alzheimer’s disease, which can detect the condition up to 20 years before symptoms appear, could be available on the NHS within five years. The test measures the levels of a protein called p-tau217, which is linked to the buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The test has been shown to be 86% accurate in distinguishing Alzheimer’s from other forms of dementia and healthy aging. The test could help diagnose the disease earlier, enable patients to access treatments and support, and reduce the need for costly and invasive brain scans. The test was developed by researchers from Lund University in Sweden, and has been validated by studies in the US and Colombia. The test is currently being trialed in the UK by the University of Manchester and the NHS. The researchers hope that the test will be approved by regulators and adopted by the NHS within the next five years. They also hope that the test will pave the way for new treatments and prevention strategies for Alzheimer’s disease, which affects more than 500,000 people in the UK and 50 million people worldwide.