A quick finger prick and a few drops of blood on a card that can be sent in regular mail. This approach could soon make Alzheimer’s testing much more accessible worldwide.
A European study led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, is paving the way for this method.
The biomarkers measured in this test have been developed over a long period and have shown strong performance – initially in cerebrospinal fluid, then in venous blood samples, and now in blood from superficial vessels in the finger.
The new test involves collecting one or two drops of blood from a finger prick onto a special card, which immediately separates blood cells from the plasma.
After approximately 15 minutes, once the card has dried, it is sent by regular mail to a laboratory, where modern high-sensitivity techniques are used to analyse it.
Hanna Huber is a researcher at the University of Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Academy.
The researcher said: “The simple capillary blood test works almost as well as venous samples, but unlike traditional blood tests, this new test does not require transport on dry ice.
“This could significantly increase accessibility to Alzheimer’s testing in countries and regions lacking the infrastructure needed for high-sensitivity analyses.”
The current study includes capillary blood samples from 203 people who underwent the finger prick test at one of five memory clinics in Europe.
The simple test kit was then mailed to the neurochemistry department at the University of Gothenburg, where established biomarkers for Alzheimer’s, such as pTau217, were analysed.
The test could potentially be implemented within a few years.
A new European study is already underway to examine whether the test can be self-administered, allowing individuals to prick their own finger and mail the sample to a lab without the need for healthcare personnel.
The test comes at a fitting time alongside the development of Alzheimer’s treatments, with the drug lecanemab already approved in numerous countries outside the EU.
These treatments require early disease detection to be effective.
The test opens up possibilities for new research breakthroughs on Alzheimer’s disease, including its genetic profile and its prevalence across global populations.
However, researchers emphasise that the test is not intended for general screening of the population.
The World Health Organization (WHO) currently advises against general screening for Alzheimer’s disease, as treatment options have historically been limited, making such screening ethically unsubstantiated.
