UK research by an Indian-origin neurologist will transform the diagnosis of dementia

Part of a world-class research team in the UK, an Indian-origin neurologist is part of the team that was given a substantial grant this week to expand on recent advances in prospective blood tests for dementia and provide the proof required for them to be used more broadly in the next five years.

 

The group that will concentrate on p-tau217, the most promising biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease, includes Dr. Ashvini Keshavan, Senior Clinical Research and Honorary Consultant Neurologist Fellow at University College London (UCL). A second group of researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford will examine different proteins in an effort to identify different dementia-causing illnesses.

With the goal of eventually implementing it on the National Health Service (NHS) at a reasonable cost, both teams will be hiring volunteers from locations all across the United Kingdom.

“We can now identify proteins in the blood that underlie a number of dementia-causing diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common cause of dementia globally,” Dr. Keshavan said.

“The two studies that have been funded by the Blood Biomarker Challenge grant aim to validate the presence or absence of these diseases in individuals with early-stage dementia or mild but progressive cognitive problems by using blood tests in real-world settings in the UK. As the current gold standard tests to confirm the presence of these diseases are either expensive or invasive, we want to make sure that our research will reflect the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the UK and are aiming to broaden access to these tests,” she says.

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Research, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Gates Ventures, and the Alzheimer’s Society are awarding a multi-million dollar Blood Biomarker Challenge, which is funded in part by People’s Postcode Lottery participants.

The plasma p-tau217 blood marker for Alzheimer’s disease is the subject of the UCL-led ADAPT research, which aims to determine if awareness of this test result might increase the likelihood of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease when combined with routine memory clinic evaluations. In the second research, known as READ-OUT, different proteins—including new or less well-known ones—are tested in an effort to identify a range of dementia-causing illnesses.

We might strengthen the argument for these tests to be included in the UK’s standard of care if our study demonstrates that they are both cost-effective and clinically helpful. According to Dr. Keshavan, this might lead to people receiving an earlier diagnosis of the particular illness that causes dementia.

A discovery of this kind would be especially significant in guaranteeing that patients get the appropriate post-diagnostic care and symptom management.

“It is already crucial to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease early and accurately so that patients may get the right treatment and drugs. This will be crucial if, as we hope, novel therapies that can halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease are soon made accessible. This would open the door for everyone who could benefit from fair and equal access to novel and possibly life-changing medicines,” said Professor Jonathan Schott, Chief Medical Officer of Alzheimer’s Research UK and Dr. Keshavan’s UCL research associate.

Currently, brain scans and memory tests are often used to identify dementia in patients. Compared to “gold standard” tests that can determine the kind of dementia a patient has, such as lumbar punctures or PET scans, they are less reliable. Only 2% of individuals can, however, get these specialized testing.

Many blood tests that are used to identify dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions, have shown encouraging outcomes in research settings in recent years. However, there hasn’t been any clinical testing done on them in the UK yet.

“There was previously a feeling that this was just another part of aging, but now we’re seeing that people want to know more about their condition and they want a diagnosis as it helps them access the support they need,” said Dr. Vanessa Raymont, Associate Director, Dementias Platform UK, and Senior Clinical Researcher, University of Oxford.

“I have firsthand knowledge of the devastation dementia causes and the benefits that a prompt and accurate diagnosis can bring to individuals and their families because both of my parents lived with the disease.” Since blood tests are quicker, simpler to give, and less expensive than the more sophisticated testing used now, they are considered a potential solution to the dementia puzzle.