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  • NEWS FEATURE

Blood tests could soon predict your risk of Alzheimer’s

Scientists are closing in on biomarkers that reflect the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and could improve treatments.
  1. Alison Abbott

    1. Alison Abbott is a writer based in Munich, Germany.

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An illustration of neurons surrounded by tangles of amyloid plaques in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease

In Alzheimer’s disease, abnormal amounts of amyloid-β proteins clump together to form plaques in the brain. Credit: NOBEASTSOFIERCE/Science Photo Library

Like many Alzheimer’s researchers, neurologist Randall Bateman is not prone to effusiveness, having endured disappointments in his field. But he and others have found one big reason to be excited lately. In just a few years, he predicts, there will be a simple blood test for your risk of Alzheimer’s. “Any family doctor will be able to do it.”

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Nature 632, 243-245 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02535-x

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