One of the hardest diseases to deal with is Alzheimers. I am currently witnessing a member of my family who is suffering a rapid retreat from normal function, both mental and physical. It is a hard thing to watch someone you have known for so many years suffer from this thus-far not curable malady. However, there is progress being made by researchers according to the latest announcement from the Alzheimer’s Association.

There is now a potential breakthrough for treating this devastating and widespread disease as we are getting closer to developing a simple blood test to detect proteins that accumulate in the brains of patients, that eventually cause neuron death from Alzheimers. Perfecting this essential biomarker could “revolutionize clinical trials today and in the future”, according to Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s
Association. The promise of patients being accurately diagnosed quickly and effectively could result in them being able to begin treatment with a specialist. A simple blood test that could be administered as part of an annual checkup would certainly be less invasive than the current PET scans being used to diagnose Alzheimers.

” Clinical trials haven’t succeeded up until now, likely because we need to find a novel therapeutic and be able to catch people early in the disease before it is established”, said Barry Greenberg, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Translational Center at John Hopkins School of Medicine.

There is still much caution here, and much more progress needs to be made through studying diverse populations to find a cure. But there is more hope now as researchers around the world continue looking for the answers.