Blood Test For Alzheimer's

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Researchers announced this past week that they have developed a blood test capable of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. The blood test uses a complex form of analysis to calculate the amount of Amyloid and Tau in the blood.

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Amyloid and Tau are the two abnormal proteins believed to be the primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease.

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Depending upon the levels of Amyloid and Tau detected, the test can determine with 90% accuracy whether or not an individual has Alzheimer’s disease.

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Previous tests which analyzed levels of Amyloid and Tau were either prohibitively expensive- often costing in excess of $5,000 USD, or invasive- requiring a sample of fluid to be taken from the spine via a procedure known as a spinal tap.

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This new test, PrecivityAD offered by C2N Diagnostics, costs $1,250 USD and while it is not yet covered by insurance, C2N Diagnostics plans to offer price reductions based on income.

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One important distinction of the PrecivityAD test, is that it is primarily a diagnostic rather than predictive test. For the test to return a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, the individual being tested must have already developed Alzheimer’s disease- even though initial symptoms may be mild or imperceptible. This is in contrast with the ApoE Genetic Test, which can predict the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s decades in advance.

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The primary benefit of the PrecivityAD test is that a positive test result can enable a physician to begin Alzheimer’s-slowing medication sooner; previously, physicians would need to wait for symptoms to progress to a noticeable state before making a diagnosis.

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Individuals who believe they are experiencing memory loss or cognitive problems should consider speaking with their physician about the PrecivityAD test and individuals with a family history of Alzheimer’s should consider an ApoE genetic test.

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