METHODS

The invention provides a method for aiding the diagnosis or prognostic monitoring of Alzheimer's disease in a subject, said method comprising; providing a sample of blood obtained from said patient; assaying the amount of gelsolin present in said sample; comparing the amount of gelsolin present in said sample to a reference amount of gelsolin present in a sample from a healthy subject,, wherein detection of a gelsolin level in the sample from said patient which is lower than the gelsolin level in the reference sample indicates an increased likelihood of Alzheimer's disease in said patient. Other markers are Cl protease inhibitor and ceruloplasmin. Both blood samples and tissue samples have been investigated.