New blood test uses gut health to help predict cognitive decline years earlier

Over the last few years, researchers have been focused on finding new ways to help doctors diagnose dementia as early as possible. Diagnosing dementia at its earliest stages can help ensure people get access to treatments earlier, which can help with symptom management and quality of life.

Some of these methods for diagnosing dementia at its earliest stages are blood tests searching for specific biomarkers that can be signs of dementia. Now, researchers from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom have developed the basis for a new blood test for the early diagnosis of dementia based on changes occurring in their gut microbiome .

For this study, researchers analyzed blood and stool samples from 150 adults ages 50 and over. Recruited study participants ranged from no signs of cognitive impairment, to those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) — which can be an early sign of dementia — and participants with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) , which is a self-reported decline in cognitive abilities like memory.