A ground-breaking trial exploring the potential of blood tests to diagnose dementia is underway in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, marking a significant step toward improving the UK’s dementia diagnosis rate.

This initiative, led by the READ-OUT research team at Dementias Platform UK (DPUK), seeks to address gaps in diagnosis and enhance early detection of dementia, ultimately improving outcomes for people with the condition.

The study is part of the Blood Biomarker Challenge – a multi-million-pound initiative led by Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, supported by funds raised by players of People's Postcode Lottery, National Institute for Health and Care Research and Gates Ventures. It aims to explore whether a panel of blood tests can complement existing diagnostic pathways in NHS memory clinics, helping clinicians provide faster and more accurate diagnoses for people living with dementia.

The team will assess multiple new and existing blood tests, looking at a range of dementia types including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies.

Researchers will also look at whether the blood tests can help detect these diseases at various stages and if results need to be interpreted differently in people from different ethnic backgrounds or with other health conditions such as kidney disease.

The first participants joined the study in Oxford in January 2025, marking the start of a nationwide drive to recruit over 3,100 participants from 33 DPUK sites across the UK. These sites, located in NHS memory clinics and community buses, aim to recruit participants from a diverse range of communities, ensuring research is inclusive and reflects the wider population.

Professor Vanessa Raymont, Associate Director, Dementias Platform UK and Senior Clinical Researcher, University of Oxford, and Co-Lead of the READ-OUT study, said: “We’re in an incredibly exciting time for dementia research right now, with new drugs that can slow early Alzheimer’s disease.

“Although these are not yet approved for use in the NHS, we urgently need to revolutionise the way we diagnose people - it will be nothing short of disastrous if people are unable to get a diagnosis early enough to benefit from the new drugs, once they do become available. In addition, many people now want and need the more accurate diagnosis blood biomarkers could provide.

“Blood biomarker tests could be the answer to this problem and the good news is the technology already exists. What we’re missing is proof that they really do work in a real-world setting. Our team will be looking at a range of blood tests and we are actively recruiting participants in North Wales.

“Participants will include a broad range of people including those from minority ethnic groups, the very elderly and people with other medical conditions. This will show us how the blood tests perform in different UK populations.”

This research will provide vital evidence needed to integrate blood tests into routine clinical practice in the NHS, ultimately improving diagnosis speed and accuracy, and ensuring more people in North Wales, and across the UK, receive timely treatments and support.

Anyone concerned about dementia symptoms should contact their GP or visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia.