By: Grace Huff
Researchers at UF Health are exploring how something as simple as a blood test could transform the way Alzheimer’s disease is detected. By identifying biological changes associated with the disease, potentially even before symptoms appear, this approach could pave the way for earlier diagnosis, more personalized treatment and improved outcomes for patients and families.
At the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, dementia specialist Yoav Piura, M.D., is studying biomarkers in the blood. These are measurable biological signals that can help identify changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
“We are entering an era where a blood test can help identify Alzheimer’s biology early, accessibly and affordably,” Piura said. “That’s a real shift.”
Biomarkers can be measured through blood, spinal fluid or brain imaging and provide clinicians with information about biological processes happening in the brain. In Alzheimer’s disease, they can help identify the underlying pathology associated with the disease and provide biological evidence to support a diagnosis.
Blood-based biomarkers could offer a more accessible way to obtain that information, an advance that has become important as new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease emerge.
“Earlier and more precise diagnosis means patients can be matched to the right treatments sooner, including the new therapies that work best when started early, and hopefully it will open the door to prevention before irreversible damage occurs,” Piura said.
Piura’s research focuses on evaluating how blood-based biomarkers perform in real-world clinical settings, including their ability to detect early Alzheimer’s-related changes before symptoms appear. He is working to improve their accuracy and understand whether they perform reliably across diverse patient populations. Florida’s population and UF Health’s collaborative research environment provide an important setting for that work.
“Florida serves an exceptionally diverse patient population, which is exactly where this next generation of diagnostic tools needs to be tested and refined,” Piura said.
For patients and families, earlier detection could mean having more time to understand a diagnosis, consider their options and plan for the future.
“This is one of the most hopeful moments in the history of Alzheimer’s research,” Piura said. “We can now detect the disease earlier and more accurately than ever, and for the first time we have treatments that can alter its course.”
“Earlier answers also give families something they have never really had before: time,” he said. “Time to plan, to make decisions together and to act while it matters most.”
As researchers work to bring emerging diagnostic tools into clinical practice, Piura sees the field moving quickly toward a future where Alzheimer’s disease can be identified earlier and with greater precision.
“Progress is accelerating,” Piura said, “and the work happening here is part of that momentum.”