UCL launches ADAPT trial to test blood based Alzheimer’s diagnosis

University College London is leading a new clinical trial called ADAPT (Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis and Plasma p-tau217) that could transform how Alzheimer’s is diagnosed in the UK. The trial centres on a blood test that detects a protein marker p-tau217, which reflects the build-up of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain, two key hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. The goal is to see whether this test can increase diagnostic accuracy from around 70 percent with current clinical assessments to over 90 percent.

Over 1,000 people with suspected dementia will be recruited from about 20 NHS memory clinics. Participants will be randomised into two groups: half will receive results within three months, the other half after 12 months. Researchers will examine whether earlier feedback improves diagnosis speed, affects clinical decision making, and changes outcomes for patients, including quality of life.

The blood test costs around £100 and is far less invasive than PET scans or lumbar punctures, which are currently the only ‘gold standard’ diagnostics but are expensive, less accessible, and used by very few patients in routine NHS settings.

The trial is part of the Blood Biomarker Challenge, a collaboration involving UCL, Alzheimer’s Research UK, the Alzheimer’s Society, the NHS, and others. If successful, the test could be adopted more broadly across the NHS, helping people get diagnosed earlier and more accurately, particularly as new treatments become available.