 A blood test predicting the onset of Alzheimer's within three years has been -developed – and researchers say it is at least 90 per cent accurate. By monitoring changes in blood molecules experts said they could spot the disease or mild cognitive impairment in its earliest stages. By catching it three years before, therapy would be more effective at slowing down or even preventing some of the symptoms. Prof Howard Federoff, of Georgetown University Medical Centre in the US, said the method offered "a window of opportunity for disease-modifying intervention". He said: "Our novel blood test offers the potential to identify people at risk for progressive -cognitive decline and can change how patients, their families and treating physicians plan for and manage the disorder. "We consider our results a major step towards the commercialisation of a test that could be useful for large-scale screening to identify at-risk individuals." His team published their research in journal Nature Medicine. Dr Simon Ridley, of Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "Detecting the disease at a pre-symptomatic stage has so far proved difficult. "A test to identify people at risk of Alzheimer's would be a real step forward." But the Alzheimer's Society's Dr Doug Brown said there were ethical considerations. He said people must be given a choice about whether they wanted to know and must "fully understand the implications". Mirror
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