Early blood testing may predict dementia, research finds

Researchers are making strides toward using blood testing to predict dementia risks nearly a decade before the onset of symptoms after promising results from a study published Monday in the academic journal Nature Aging.

Scientists affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai report having discovered four specific proteins in blood plasma associated with greater risks for both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, or cognitive decline due to blood vessel changes in the brain. The findings come from an examination of nearly 53,000 patients in the UK Biobank database over a 14-year period. From this sample, over 1,400 went on to develop dementia as they aged.