NEARLY 7 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE ALZHEIMER ’ S , THE MOST PREVALENT DEMENTIA , A NUMBER PROJECTED TO REACH 14 MILLION BY 2060 . NEW BLOOD TESTS OFFER THE POTENTIAL FOR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS AS WELL AS SPECIALISTS TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE AT RISK FOR ALZHEIMER ’ S DISEASE EVEN BEFORE SYMPTOMS MANIFEST . reflects the limits of PET scans to identify the earliest stages of AD pathology and that many of these patients will progress to be PET-positive as the disease worsens .”
F E A T U R E team recently published results of a study in Alzheimer ’ s and Dementia that showed the ‘ novel and important ’ finding that abnormal Aẞ42 / 40 blood testing “ associates with quantifiable changes in the tissue and extracellular microstructural environments ” of the brain , even in PET-negative patients .
“ These findings show Aẞ42 / 40 testing is very helpful in identifying amyloid pathology in populations with a high prevalence of AD , particularly older individuals ,” said study coauthor Michael Racke , MD , Medical Director of Neurology at Quest Diagnostics . “ We believe the comparatively low specificity
NEARLY 7 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE ALZHEIMER ’ S , THE MOST PREVALENT DEMENTIA , A NUMBER PROJECTED TO REACH 14 MILLION BY 2060 . NEW BLOOD TESTS OFFER THE POTENTIAL FOR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS AS WELL AS SPECIALISTS TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE AT RISK FOR ALZHEIMER ’ S DISEASE EVEN BEFORE SYMPTOMS MANIFEST . reflects the limits of PET scans to identify the earliest stages of AD pathology and that many of these patients will progress to be PET-positive as the disease worsens .”
APOE4 did not influence accuracy , possibly due to population diversity : APOE4 alleles did not substantially improve accuracy of the Aẞ42 / 40 test , in contrast to other research . Investigators theorise this was due to a higher than typical percentage of patients of Hispanic heritage in the study population . APOE4 is a genetic trait that raises risk of AD and is more likely to correlate with PETpositive results in patients who are White than Hispanic .
“ Our findings are a cautionary note that algorithms incorporating Aẞ42 / 40 and APOE4 allele status may not be generally applicable for all races and ethnicities ,” wrote the authors .
Nearly 7 million Americans have Alzheimer ’ s , the most prevalent dementia , a number projected to reach 14 million by 2060 . New blood tests offer the potential for primary care physicians as well as specialists to identify people at risk for Alzheimer ’ s disease even before symptoms manifest .
To access the complete study , including methodology , strengths and limitations , visit : Frontiers | Clinical utility of plasma Aẞ42 / 40 ratio by LC-MS / MS in Alzheimer ’ s disease assessment ( frontiersin . org ) �
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