About one in 10 people in the UK aged 70 and over may have brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to the largest population-based study of its kind.
The findings, published in Nature, are not a diagnosis but suggest more than 1 million people could meet NHS criteria for anti-amyloid treatments – far higher than previous estimates. Researchers analysed blood samples from nearly 11,500 randomly selected people using a new biomarker test that can detect Alzheimer’s-related changes earlier than before.
The study found these brain changes increase sharply with age, rising to around two-thirds of people over 90. Experts say the results could transform early detection, but warn that current treatments are expensive and not widely available on the NHS.
