"A new blood https test for Alzheimers disease https is  accurate at identifying the disease and can perhaps detect it even before symptoms such as memory loss https appear says the tests developer. This is a simple test that has high accuracy and can be run from a single drop of blood https says Robert Nagele PhD a professor of medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine. He is also founder of Durin Technologies Inc. the company that is developing the test. The research results on the new test are published online in PLoS ONE. His test is one of numerous such tests under study says Heather Snyder PhD a spokesperson for the Alzheimers https Association who reviewed the research results. Many labs are looking at this. They are all in the very preliminary very early stages. We all know we need an accurate relatively noninvasive way to diagnose Alzheimers. Last month at the Alzheimers Association International Conference Australian researchers reported good results for another blood test for Alzheimers https under development. It works by determining the amount of amyloid plaque associated with the disease in peoples brains.  An estimated . million Americans have Alzheimers disease https the most common form of dementia https according to the Alzheimers Association. Doctors use brain https imaging evaluation of behavior psychiatric tests and other means to diagnose the disease. None are highly accurate and some are costly and not practical to use on a widespread basis experts say. The only definitive way to diagnose the disease is by direct examination of brain https tissue after the patient dies. New Blood Test for Alzheimers How It Works Nageles test looks for antibodies in the blood specific to the disease. Alzheimers is believed to start up to  years or so before symptoms are noticeable. Before symptoms occur these brain https changes are under way he tells WebMD. Brain https cells die and when they die they pop they explode like a water balloon breaking. The contents of those dying cells spill partially back into the blood. Your body makes antibodies against the cell debris he says. We believe that happens so it can facilitate the cleanup of the cell debris. The researchers found thousands of these antibodies. Many of these are related to the presence of the disease Nagele says. Nageles team looked at blood samples from  people with Alzheimers disease and  without. They also looked at blood samples from  breast cancer https patients and  with Parkinsons disease https to be sure the test could be specific for Alzheimers. Parkinsons and Alzheimers are very close in terms of their pathology Nagele says. Neurons are dying in both cases. He wanted to see if the test could tell Alzheimers and Parkinsons apart. Overall the tests identified  of those with Alzheimers correctly. It correctly identified . of those who didnt have Alzheimers. In the process Nagele narrowed down the list of antibody biomarkers needed to detect Alzheimers disease to . The hope is to detect the disease before symptoms appear but Nagele stresses his team has not yet done that. If all goes well he is hopeful the test could be available within a year. Costs are difficult to estimate but it could be about  he tells WebMD. New Blood Test for Alzheimers Perspective Snyder calls the report exciting but also had many caveats. I would call it preliminary she says of Nageles research. Its a small study and a small sample. As research on blood and other tests for Alzheimers progresses Snyder says the measures must be standardized so people get the same results regardless of where the test is performed. That has been an issue for instance in some cerebral spinal fluid tests also being studied to detect Alzheimers. What we have seen at least in cerebral spinal fluid tests is that it hasnt held up across different labs she says. She acknowledges some people may not want to know if the disease is in their future but says knowing early has many advantages. They can plan for their financial future as well as their care she says. They can participate in clinical trials https When we do have therapeutic options available the ultimate goal would be intervention."