By IANS
London : British scientists claim to have identified a series of proteins present in the blood of those at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and said a blood test may help spot early signs of the condition.
The scientists, who are close to developing a blood test to spot the early signs of this neurological condition, said that patients who tested positive for the proteins could amend their diet and take more exercise to stave off their chances of developing Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder that seriously affects a person's ability to carry out daily activities. Patients may have trouble remembering things that occurred recently or the names of people.
Symptoms generally get worse over time, with the person not being able to recognise even family members or have trouble speaking, reading or writing.
Researchers from King's College in London who identified the proteins said the blood test was still to be put through rigorous trials and it would not be available in health centres for five to ten years, reported the online edition of the Daily Mail.
"The challenge has been to find what may cause Alzheimer's and to see if we can identify it before it sets in and therefore give patients an opportunity to have effective treatment," said researcher Madhav Thambisetty.
"Our holy grail is to devise a simple blood test that can eventually be administered at a health centre.
"We feel we are very close to that although we have to be cautious because the research needs more testing. It may be a few years before we have a test, but we are the closest we've ever been." Thambisetty said.
The optimism follows a study by the team last year that compared protein levels in the blood of 500 Alzheimer's sufferers with those of healthy older people. They were able to identify which proteins were present in higher quantities in those with Alzheimer's.
A blood test would be an improvement on the current memory test, which is very upsetting for patients, takes up to a year for a diagnosis and only spots the disease once its symptoms have set in.