Trials begin for blood tests to diagnose dementia early

A major new study which will use blood tests to help diagnose dementia earlier is underway at NHS clinics.

The Real Word Dementia Outcomes (READ-OUT) study will investigate blood tests that have shown promise in research studies but aren’t used routinely in dementia diagnosis.

The study aims to recruit more than 3,000 people from 28 different NHS clinics across the UK to participate in the trial, with the first volunteers having already been recruited at the Warneford Hospital in Oxford.

The team will assess multiple new and existing blood tests, looking at a range of dementia types including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies.

They will also look at whether the blood tests can help detect these diseases at various stages and if the results need to be interpreted differently in people from different ethnic backgrounds or with other health conditions such as kidney disease.

Sophie Evans lost her dad, Vincent, to mixed dementia in 2021. She thinks that if he had an earlier diagnosis, the family would have been able to better manage Vincent’s condition.

Ms Evans said she “would move the earth and beyond to stop just one person going through what we went through”.

“For people who may be struggling accepting their symptoms, a blood test would be helpful in allowing people to come to terms with a diagnosis – you can’t argue with a blood test.”

Dr Sheona Scales, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, welcomed any research that makes getting a diagnosis quicker, as having a formal diagnosis is “vital”.

“Having a formal diagnosis of dementia is vital so people can access personalised care and support, put future plans in place, and it opens up opportunities to take part in medical research and clinical trials.”

“Blood tests have been showing huge promise and have the potential to move the dial on diagnosis, giving people the answers they desperately need.”

Around one in three people with dementia never receive a formal diagnosis, which this trial hopes to help change.

The READ-OUT trial is led by Professor Vanessa Raymont and the research team at Dementias Platform UK who are based at the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

With the ADAPT trial based at UCL, they make up part of the Blood Biomarker Challenge, which is a multi-million-pound programme supported by Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Gates Ventures and players of People’s Postcode Lottery.