British scientists who developed a new blood test that detects which persons with memory problems will eventually develop Alzheimer's disease hope their test might be a breakthrough cure.

An international team led by scientists from King's College London said its test can predict the onset of Alzheimer's in the next 12 months in people with memory problems. The team said the test has an accuracy of 87 percent and could be available within two years.

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It estimates the test could cost from US$170 to US$310.

"A simple blood test could help us identify patients at a much earlier stage to take part in new trials and hopefully develop treatments which could prevent the progression of the disease," said Professor Simon Lovestone from King's College.

During their study, the team identified 10 proteins whose presence could predict if people with mild cognitive impairment would develop Alzheimer's within a year with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

The new test is intended for people with a kind of memory loss called mild cognitive impairment. Of this group, 60 percent will eventually develop dementia.

"Alzheimer's begins to affect the brain many years before patients are diagnosed with the disease," said Professor Lovestone.

He noted that many drug trials fail because by the time patients are given the drugs, their brains have already been too severely affected by Alzheimer's.

As a result, scientists want to recruit people with mild cognitive impairment into trials that seek to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for Alzheimer's, which worsens as it progresses. The disease eventually leads to death.

Alzheimer's is often diagnosed in people over 65 years of age. Scientists predict that Alzheimer's could affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050.

There are no good long-term treatments for Alzheimer's and there is no cure for the disease.