Confirming a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease will soon be as simple as getting a blood test, with a radical new method able to detect precursors decades in advance. Further clinical trials will be done on the Therapeutic Goods Administration-approved test at the new Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis, to be officially opened by Health Minister Mark Butler in Sydney on Thursday. The test works by detecting the two proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease - amyloid and tau - which begin to accumulate in the brain decades before a person develops symptoms. Previously, the main diagnosis methods were either by lumbar puncture or an expensive and not widely available type of brain scan. While a major development, it would initially only be available to those already showing symptoms, said Prof Devenney, who will oversee the centre.