The Flemish Government is investing more than sixteen million euros in a large-scale research project to validate innovative blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease. The project focuses on the promising pTau217 biomarker and will also build a cohort for future clinical studies. This marks an important step toward earlier and more accessible detection of Alzheimer’s disease, while strengthening medical innovation in Flanders.

More than 130,000 people in Flanders currently live with dementia, a number that is expected to rise sharply in the coming decades. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause. Yet the biological processes underlying the disease begin decades before the first symptoms appear.

If we want to detect and treat Alzheimer’s disease in time, we need ways to identify these biological changes as early as possible.

<h4>Can blood tests deliver?</h4>

Recent breakthroughs in blood-based diagnostics offer an alternative to invasive or expensive procedures. One of the most promising tests measures pTau217 in the blood, a modified protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease. However, these tests have not yet been validated for large-scale use in the general population.

Through this new Flemish research initiative, scientists from several universities are joining forces to validate the biomarker in five thousand people aged fifty and over, as part of the Ghent University Health Monitor. The goal is to determine how often early biological signs of Alzheimer’s disease occur in Flanders, and to what extent they can predict future cognitive decline.

Prof. Dr. Rik Vandenberghe, neurologist and head of the memory clinic at UZ Leuven: “We are building a trial-ready cohort (study population) so that we can identify subjects for clinical trials of new drugs more quickly and efficiently in Flanders. In the long term, this will open the door to more and better treatment options at an early stage of the disease.”

Laying the groundwork for prevention

Alongside the scientific work, the project includes an extensive societal and ethical research track. This explores how citizens, patients, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders feel about the use of blood tests for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

Under which conditions do people want, or not want, to know whether they are at increased risk? And what would this mean for patients, caregivers, and the healthcare system?

It is important to stress that this is a scientific research project, not a clinical screening program. Participants do not receive a diagnosis. A positive biomarker result also does not mean that someone will inevitably develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Ready for what lies ahead

Recently, new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease have entered the market, including lecanemab and donanemab. These drugs target harmful protein build-ups in the brain. Their effects are modest, but meaningful when treatment starts early, underscoring the importance of early detection.

“The earlier we can identify the disease process, the sooner we may be able to intervene, and the greater the potential impact of new treatments,” says Prof. Bart De Strooper (VIB-KU Leuven, UK Dementia Research Institute). “With this project, we are building valuable research infrastructure, including a plasma biobank, genetic and clinical datasets, and stem cell lines. Together, these will offer a wealth of information to better map the earliest stages of the disease.”

More information

The Flemish Cognitive Compass is a close collaboration between a multidisciplinary team of researchers from several institutions: Prof. Bart De Strooper (VIB-KU Leuven), Prof. Rik Vandenberghe (UZ Leuven - KU Leuven), Prof. Lies Lahousse en Prof. Marthe De Boevre (UGent), Prof. Kristel Sleegers (VIB-UAntwerpen), en Prof. Kris Dierickx (KU Leuven).
Together, they aim to position Flanders at the forefront of responsible, science-driven innovation in Alzheimer’s research, with a strong focus on early detection, prevention, and societal impact.