Thousands of people across the UK will have access to trials that could revolutionise the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s – a move which has been welcomed in Bolton.

Thousands of people living in the borough have the devastating condition.

The blood tests could be ready for use in the NHS within five years as part of a drive to address the nation’s low diagnosis rate and receive the treatment they need earlier.

University College London and Oxford University will lead the trials to research the cheap tests for proteins in people with early stages of dementia and those who have mild or progressive problems with memory.

The trial could make the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s more accessible, with currently just two per cent of people able to access tests like PET scans or lumbar punctures, which are only available in around one in 20 NHS memory clinics.

Cllr Sean Fielding, Bolton Council executive member for adults, health and wellbeing said he welcomes the new tests for people living with Alzheimer’s in Bolton.

He said: “There are estimated to be more than 3,200 people in Bolton living with a form of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is one.

“Local services have diagnosed just over 2,300 of these. While our diagnosis rate is above the national average there are still just short of 1,000 people living with undiagnosed dementia and so they are not receiving the support that could help them to live better lives, despite their illness.

“This new blood test could help close that gap and enable more people to understand their illness and get the treatment they need.

“With people living longer, the number of those living with dementia in Bolton is set to increase to more than 4,000 by 2030 and anything that helps us to identify as many of these as possible is welcome.”

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A presentation on dementia was held at the Health Oversight and Scrutiny Committee last week and focused on an update on the Dementia Pathway in Bolton.

According to figures, there are estimated to be 3,272 people aged over 65 with dementia in Bolton and there are currently 2,336 people over 65 living in Bolton with a dementia diagnosis.

The latest dementia diagnosis rate for people over 65 in Bolton is 71.4 per cent, this is above the national target of 66 per cent.

The research teams for the blood test trials make up the Blood Biomarker Challenge, sponsored by Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s Society with £5 million of funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery.

The tests could provide results to patients much sooner and accelerate the introduction of new Alzheimer’s drugs that rely on early diagnosis.

Jonathan Schott, chief medical officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, will lead a trial on the most promising blood biomarker in tests on 1,100 people across the UK.

His University College London (UCL) team will focus on the most promising biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease, called p-tau217, which can indicate levels of amyloid and tau in the brain.

Its trial will see if measuring p-tau217 in the blood can increase the rate of diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease in people with early dementia, but also those with mild but progressive memory problems.

The second trial, headed by Dr Vanessa Raymont, from Oxford University, will cover new and existing blood tests on nearly 4,000 people, testing multiple forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies.

More than 944,000 people in the UK have dementia, a figure expected to rise to more than a million by 2030.

Fiona Carragher, director of research and influencing at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer, yet a third of people living with dementia don’t have a diagnosis, which means they’re not able to access care and support.

“At the moment, only two per cent of people with dementia can access the specialised tests needed to demonstrate eligibility for new treatments, leading to unnecessary delays, worry and uncertainty.

“Blood tests are part of the answer to this problem – they’re quick, easy to administer and cheaper than current, more complex tests.

“I’ve spent decades working in research and the NHS and, after years of slow progress, it feels like we’re on the cusp of a new chapter on how we treat dementia in this country.”

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