In a stride towards advancing Alzheimer’s research and diagnosis, the READ-OUT project, part of the Dementia Platforms UK Blood Biomarker Challenge, has officially commenced with a substantial £4.5 million in funding from Alzheimer’s Research UK, the Alzheimer’s Society, and the Postcode Lottery.

Led by research teams at University College London and Dementias Platform UK based at the University of Oxford, the READ-OUT project will capitalise on recent breakthroughs in potential dementia blood tests and generate the evidence needed for them to be validated for use in the NHS within the next 5 years. Both teams will recruit participants from sites spread across the country, to ensure their findings are applicable to the whole of the UK’s diverse population.

Dr Ross Dunne, our theme lead for dementia and a co applicant for the project will be overseeing the research team at the Dementia Research Centre and the brainHealth Manchester clinic. 

“The project will enable us to measure how useful blood biomarkers are in real world practice in the NHS. Blood measures can be affected by drugs and diseases in a way that direct measures of proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] are not. brainHealth Manchester’s CSF biomarker clinic will be fundamental to making sure blood biomarkers measure what we think they do by double checking the results in CSF. This will soon enable us to provide better, faster diagnostic results to our patients, using a simple blood test.”

The project aims to revolutionise dementia diagnosis and is an important step towards providing reassurance for those without disease and providing access to groundbreaking therapies and research for those living with Alzheimer’s and other diseases underlying dementia.

For anyone interested in participating or seeking further information about the Blood Biomarker Challenge, please visit: www.dementiasplatform.uk

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