Should You Get an Alzheimer’s Test?

It is estimated Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia, will significantly rise in the coming years. While there is not a cure, there have been strides made in both diagnostic tools and medications. 

One of those advancements is an Alzheimer’s blood test that was recently approved in May by the FDA. The test, from Fujirebio Diagnostics, looks for abnormal levels of amyloid and tau proteins in the blood. These accumulations that occur in the brain are referred to as plaque, and are hallmark signs of Alzheimer’s. Experts say the blood test’s prediction of Alzheimer’s has an approximately 90 percent accuracy rate.  

The other good news is the new test is less invasive as well as less costly than previous tests used to diagnose patients with Alzheimer’s such as PET scans and spinal taps. It also helps to rule out other reasons for a person’s cognitive decline. With the FDA approval, experts say the new test will be more commonly used in symptomatic patients. 

The test is currently approved for people with symptoms of cognitive impairment and are between the ages of 55 to 60 and over. As we know the drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s work best in the early stages of the disease but do have significant side effects, a patient would not want to take them before ruling out other causes of memory impairment. Moreover, although Alzheimer’s starts in a person’s brain years earlier than symptoms appear, they are not currently approved for healthy people who would like to rule out a later diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or those that are simply curious.

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