“This is a milestone for Alzheimer’s diagnostics in Ireland. It represents a major shift in how we can identify and monitor neurodegenerative disease - we are proud to lead this national service,” according to Eoin Begley, Chief Medical Scientist in the National Neurochemistry Laboratory at Tallaght University Hospital, (TUH), commenting as they announced the start of a new programme to assess how blood tests may help support the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Eoin continued to explain how the development means they are “moving from CSF‑only testing to validated blood‑based biomarkers that will enable us to support far more patients, far earlier in their diagnostic journey.”
The development strengthens TUH’s role as a national referral centre for Alzheimer’s disease biomarker testing.
According to Professor Seán Kennelly, Consultant Geriatrician and Director at the Institute of Memory and Ageing, TUH, “for patients and families, this development is genuinely transformative. Earlier and more accurate diagnosis enables better planning, better access to supports, and more personalised treatment decisions. The ability to deliver blood‑based biomarker testing nationally is a major step forward for dementia care in Ireland.”
The National Neurochemistry Laboratory at TUH currently provides specialist biomarker analysis to 12 hospitals nationwide, processing approximately 1,000 patients Cerebral Spinal Fluid samples annually. The arrival of the new state‑of‑the‑art analyser alongside recent European approvals for blood biomarkers of Alzheimer’s will support a formal validation programme for blood biomarker testing in Alzheimer’s disease. This represents an important step that has the potential to significantly expand access to earlier, less invasive and more scalable diagnostic options for patients.
The innovation is underpinned by research conducted in partnership with Trinity College Dublin and is supported through Consultant Innovation Funding. An important component of this work has been the development of the TUH Institute of Memory and Cognition Biobank for Ageing & Neurodegeneration, co-led by Dr Antoinette O’Connor, which supports the collection and integration of clinical and biomarker data for translational dementia research. Dr O’Connor also co-leads the Dementia Research Network Ireland All-Island Biobank initiative, supporting the development of national infrastructure for biomarker research and clinical validation.