June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month.
Alzheimer’s disease is merciless. It can rob you of your memory, personality, and ability to do simple things like swallow or speak.
Even scarier: Nearly 2 in 3 people with Alzheimer’s are women or people assigned female at birth.
But there is good news in advances in Alzheimer’s screening. There are now blood tests that can assess your risk level for Alzheimer’s, and you can get one right now. But should you do it?
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Alzheimer’s blood test
There are two types of tests that look for recognized markers of Alzheimer’s disease. One that measures beta-amyloid protein levels and another that measures phosphorylated tau (p-tau) proteins.
“Some of these blood tests work better than others,” he said. Lynn M. Bekris, Ph.D., principal investigator in the Lynn Bekris laboratory at the Cleveland Clinic. “New blood tests for p-tau biomarkers show great promise.”
Earlier this year, in an innovative studyThe researchers pinpointed elevated levels of p-tau, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, from a regular blood test.
This is notable for several reasons. First, the test results were as accurate as the current FDA-approved spinal fluid test and brain scan used to identify and help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.
This means that a blood test can replace the more invasive procedure without compromising the results. And blood tests are easier to perform than brain scans and spinal taps.
Perhaps the most important detail of the study is that it demonstrated the ability to measure changes in protein levels years before symptoms appear. This offers hope that symptom-free testing for Alzheimer’s is possible and could one day be part of a routine screening test, as it would for high cholesterol or diabetes.
The study tested a specific form of p-tau called p-tau217. Bekris noted that many forms of p-tau are found in the blood, but p-tau217 is a promising biomarker because it is very high in people with Alzheimer’s disease. “One particular test of p-tau217 has received FDA approval and will likely be commercially available soon,” Bekris said.
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p-tau testing is still only used in research at this time, but a blood test for amyloid beta proteins can currently be performed as an Alzheimer’s risk assessment tool. To get tested, you must have certain risk factors and talk to your healthcare provider about the pros and cons. If the test is right for you, you may be given a prescription.
Should you get a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease?
It is important to note that the test is intended to show potential risks and does not diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. It is also not approved by the FDA and is not currently covered by health insurance. Additionally, some experts have raised questions about the accuracy of the amyloid beta protein test, noting that it could lead to false positives, which could cause people unnecessary anxiety. Bekris noted that testing blood or fluid for p-tau is more accurate than measuring amyloid beta levels in the blood, but false positives are still possible. The hope is that blood tests can begin as a tool that leads to further evaluation.
Currently, the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s comes from multiple results of brain imaging, memory tests, and biomarker tests, among other factors.
Bekris said multiple diagnostic tests are better together than alone. “This more detailed evaluation will most accurately rule out or rule out Alzheimer’s disease and is necessary before both the patient and her doctor select the type of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease,” he said.
This year there have been some important advances in research. But there is still no cure for Alzheimer’s. We are ready for more options, treatments and solutions for this devastating brain disease.
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