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Researchers warn social media driving harmful misuse of Alzheimer’s blood tests

The Guardian UK Tuesday 15 September 2026, 12:30 UTC By Melissa Davey Medical editor 1 min read
Key Points

Exclusive: Alzheimer’s blood tests should not be used on their own and risk leading people to believe they are inevitably going to develop dementiaResearchers have warned that social media may be misleading healthy people into taking Alzheimer’s blood tests, causing severe anxiety over biological markers that may never actually cause dementia. Blood-based biomarker tests, such as p-tau217 and p-tau181, detect biological signs of changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease, which...

Exclusive: Alzheimer’s blood tests should not be used on their own and risk leading people to believe they are inevitably going to develop dementia

Researchers have warned that social media may be misleading healthy people into taking Alzheimer’s blood tests, causing severe anxiety over biological markers that may never actually cause dementia.

Blood-based biomarker tests, such as p-tau217 and p-tau181, detect biological signs of changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease, which is a progressive brain disorder and the leading cause of dementia.

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dementiaResearchers (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

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