Blood Test for Alzheimer’s?

In the past, testing for Alzheimer’s disease has been a difficult and drawn out process. There is a new process of detection under development, though, and it involves blood testing. This has never been successfully done before, and researchers are pretty excited about it.

The way it works rests on the premise that every person has autoantibodies in their blood, and when Alzheimer’s is present, those autoantibodies cause changes to them and this can serve as a biomarker of the presence of the disease. It’s not completely perfected yet, but researchers at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine are getting close. They say that there are also implication that this test will be helpful with the detection of Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and breast cancer.

The most important implication of having a blood test for Alzheimer’s is early treatment. There’s no cure for this disease, and it is fatal, but the earlier it is detected, the more effective treatments become and the higher the quality of life will be for the people whose lives are impacted by it. Once a loved one is in the later stages of the disease, treatment is almost impossible and the main focus shifts to improving their life and keeping them safe. Senior care, and especially in-home care, is a big help here, but keeping things better for longer should always be your goal. Senior care of any type can be difficult as it can be stressful to set up and maintain. It can also be expensive in many cases.

Alzheimer’s care is difficult sometimes. Researchers are developing a new blood test to assist with early detection to help this.

Alleviating the negative effects of senior care is mostly about prevention, and this new test would help a lot here. However, if this isn’t something that applies to you and you need to find care for a loved one right now, there are better ways to go about finding it. First, start with the basics and work your way up. You don’t need to jump right to the nursing home. In-home care will cover the majority of people’s care needs, even if Alzheimer’s is involved. This keeps your loved one in their home for longer and it has less of a negative impact on their lifestyle and their health–assuming that they do not need constant medical attention. Senior care is all about finding a way to keep their lifestyle as close to as what it was before while still giving them the support and assistance that they need to make it through the day safely. In-home care is also cheaper than most other types of care because there’s no building or institution to pay upkeep for. You are just paying for a caregiver to come and help. By adjusting the hours to fit your schedule, you can get a customized program set up and pay for only the care that  is needed. This is perfect if your mom or dad live with you and you can provide care during the evenings when you are home from work.

Alzheimer’s is a tough situation because there’s no cure, but researchers are moving quickly to help those that are impacted. This is a very comforting thought.