(Radio Iowa) – A significant, new advance in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is being unveiled at a medical conference in Amsterdam, and a central Iowa physician who’s there calls it a very exciting development.

Dr. Yogesh Shah, a geriatrician at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, says a simple, finger prick blood test, much like what diabetics do daily, shows promise in the ability to detect Alzheimer’s. “It will have to go through the regular checks, regular confirmations and approvals,” Dr. Shah says, “but the way I feel, the field is moving very fast, that this will happen soon and will be available for patients all over, including in Iowa.”

In a Radio Iowa interview from the Netherlands, Shah says this streamlined finger-prick test may help detect Alzheimer’s at home or in the doctor’s office, and indications are the blood test is more than 80% accurate. How soon will it be available?   “I would say and hope that it’s not years,” Shah says. “What I would also can say it’s not going to be available next week. I feel in months, so hopefully, in early to middle next year.”

Once it’s available, Shah says only people with a family history of dementia, or those who are showing symptoms, should need to take the test. If the test is positive, preventative measures could start much more quickly. Still, the drugs that are approved for helping to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s are expensive.
“It can cost up to $26,000 per year, so it’s a significant cost, and side effects, so we have to be careful,” Shah says. “It’s not for everybody. It’s only for patients with very early stage of Alzheimer’s.” A statement released by the Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association says this new blood test, once verified and approved, “would offer a quick, noninvasive and cost-effective option.”

It’s estimated there are 66,000 Iowans living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and another 98,000 Iowans are their caregivers. A report out this week says the average Alzheimer’s prevalence rate in Iowans age 65 and older is 11%, while the rate is even higher in northwest Iowa.