Alzheimer's early diagnosis gains ground with blood and eye‑imaging tests

In Poland, the average time from a patient's first primary‑care visit to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is about 24 months, one of the longest delays in Europe. Recent developments in blood‑based assays now allow measurement of beta‑amyloid ratios (Aβ42/Aβ40) and phosphorylated tau (pTau181, pTau217). Positive results can prompt referral for more detailed neurological evaluation and may extend autonomous functioning by roughly two years.

Parallel research is exploring retinal imaging as a non‑invasive diagnostic tool. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT‑A) can reveal reduced vessel density and thinning of retinal layers, changes thought to reflect cerebral micro‑vascular pathology. An artificial‑intelligence model applied to retinal photographs distinguished Alzheimer’s patients from healthy controls with over 80 % accuracy, offering a cheaper and faster alternative to PET scans or cerebrospinal‑fluid analysis.