A Blood Test To Detect Presence Of Alzheimer’s Disease Is Here

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This Wednesday, July 22, 2020, photo provided by C2N Diagnostics shows equipment in a lab that analyzes blood samples at the company’s facility in the Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis. (Jerry Naunheim Jr./C2N Diagnostics via AP)

The first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease is finally here and is on sale in the US.  It hasn’t actually been approved by the FDA. The AP reports it’s being sold under “more general rules for commercial labs.”

Nonetheless, it could fill a huge gap in the diagnosis journey for a person suffering from cognitive decline. Many things can cause it, and in order to determine whether Alzheimer’s is to blame, a person must have symptoms alongside the buildup of a certain protein in the brain.

At the moment, the best way to diagnose Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, is to measure the protein via a PET brain scan—a diagnostic tool not available to most people, as it is not typically covered by insurance and can cost around $5,000. That means many people can be left without answers.

The blood test, developed by C2N Diagnostics in St. Louis, is also not covered by insurance or Medicare, but its $1,250 cost can be discounted based on income. It’s intended only for those over 60 who are already being evaluated for Alzheimer’s.

While the disease can’t be cured, earlier diagnosis can lead to treatments that prolong patients’ ability to function independently, Axios reports. “You can’t treat the disease without being able to diagnose it,” one researcher said over the summer. “And the accurate, low-cost diagnosis is really exciting, so it’s a breakthrough.” However, some researchers are concerned that no data has yet been published on the test’s accuracy. (Read more Alzheimer’s Disease stories.)

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Call Me Steve
3 years ago

At least there’s something. The horror of dementia cannot be overstated and a derivative test could be a step toward an eventual cure.

Glenn Geist
3 years ago

That’s the question. One parent died from it and the other died from Lewy Body disease which is similar. At my age, any time I can’t recall a name or a word, I worry. The test would – might put an end to that, but it would put an end to the soothing “hey, it’s really nothing” that we old people do.

And then there’s my eternal parsimony. I hate to spend the money

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