Three UW Department of Medicine researchers in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology—Henrik Zetterberg, MD, PhD, visiting professor; Cynthia Carlsson, MD, MS, Louis A. Holland, Sr., Endowed Professor in Alzheimer’s Disease; and Sterling Johnson, PhD, Jean R. Finley Professor of Geriatrics and Dementia—are co-authors on a recent study published by JAMA Neurology which found that a blood test performed as well as lumbar punctures for sampling cerebrospinal fluid.

The study examined data from participants in three previous studies, including the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP).

While more research is needed to show if the tests can diagnose those who are in the early stages of developing dementia, these findings show exciting progress as the field looks to create new tools for identifying and diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease to make the diagnoses more accessible.

Read the full article from the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC).

Banner credit: Clint Thayer/Department of Medicine.