A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine shows us a diagnostic tool, developed by some Swedish scientists, very useful for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages. You only need to do three (10-minute) cognitive tests and a blood test.
Thanks to this information, the new algorithm was able to predict with 90% accuracy which patients with mild cognitive impairment would develop Alzheimer’s within four years. Not only that: the algorithm in question was accurate 83% of the time in predicting the onset of Alzheimer’s using only the results of blood tests.
“The algorithm will allow us to find people with Alzheimer’s at an early stage, i.e. when new drugs have a greater chance of slowing the course of the disease“says neuroscientist Oskar Hansson of Lund University in Sweden. The hope (and dream) of the researchers is that, one day, this tool will make a difference in Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
“The algorithm has currently only been tested on patients who have been examined in memory clinics. Our hope is that it will also be validated for use in primary health care and in developing countries with limited resources.“says study lead author Sebastian Palmqvist of the University of Lund.
We had already told you about the usefulness of artificial intelligence in the medical field … while in the future a vaccine for Alzheimer’s could arrive.