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Abstract Background Peripheral diagnostics for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continue to be developed. Diagnostics capable of detecting AD before the onset of symptoms are particularly desirable, and, given the fact that early detection is imperative for alleviating long-term symptoms of the disease, methods which enable detection in the earliest stages are urgently needed. Saliva testing is non-invasive, and saliva is easy to acquire. A simple, non-invasive saliva test can potentially be used as an adjunct to diagnose AD during its earliest stages. Methods Salivary levels of beta amyloid 42 (Aβ42) were quantitated with enzyme-linked immunosorbent–type assays. Fifteen AD patients (7 men, mean age 77.8 ± 1.8 years, mean Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE] score 19.0 ± 1.3) and 7 normal controls (2 men, mean age 60.4 ± 4.7 years, mean MMSE 29.0 ± 0.4) were enrolled. Results Salivary Aβ42 levels were significantly higher in AD patients than in controls (51.7 ± 1.6 pg/mL for AD and 21.1 ± 0.3 pg/mL for controls, p < 0.001). Based on these results, saliva testing appears to be a promising method for detecting AD during its critical early stages.