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NEW Blood Test for
Alzheimer's Disease
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the first blood test to aid in diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The test detects amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, through a blood draw, making it less invasive than other more commonly used diagnostic tools.
While there is no single, stand-alone test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease today — including this newly approved test — blood testing can be an important piece of the diagnostic process. Currently, physicians primarily use other, more well-established diagnostic tools combined with medical history, neurological exams, cognitive and functional assessments, brain imaging, spinal fluid analysis — and, increasingly, blood tests — to make an accurate diagnosis and to understand which patients are eligible for approved treatments.
According to the FDA, “the Lumipulse G pTau217/ß-Amyloid 1-42 Plasma Ratio is for the early detection of amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease in adult patients, aged 55 years and older, exhibiting signs and symptoms of the disease.”
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