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A Blood Test for Alzheimer's Disease: Progress, Challenges, and Recommendations
Steven J Kiddle1,2, Nicola Voyle1, Richard J B Dobson1,3,4
1Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Journal of Alzheimer'S Disease : JAD
|April 5, 2018
Summary
Developing a blood test for Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been a long-standing goal. Challenges in replication and reporting hinder progress, but addressing these could accelerate clinical utility for AD blood biomarkers.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomarker Discovery
- Clinical Diagnostics
Background:
- The discovery of APOEɛ4 over 25 years ago spurred interest in Alzheimer's disease (AD) blood tests.
- Despite extensive research into genetic, protein, and metabolite markers, no AD blood test is currently in clinical use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current trends and challenges in Alzheimer's disease (AD) blood biomarker research.
- To provide recommendations for overcoming obstacles in the development of clinically useful AD blood tests.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of AD blood biomarker studies.
- Analysis of consistency, replication, and reporting practices in the field.
- Formulation of expert recommendations based on identified challenges.
Main Results:
- Some consistency exists across studies, but high-profile failures to replicate findings are notable.
- Academic incentives may discourage reporting predictive abilities and negative results, and limit independent replication.
- Reluctance to publish negative findings and replicate others' work impedes scientific progress.
Conclusions:
- Addressing issues of reporting, negative findings, and replication is crucial for advancing AD blood biomarker development.
- Overcoming these challenges will accelerate the identification of clinically useful blood tests for Alzheimer's disease and related conditions.