Questions grow about the validity and usefulness of direct-to-consumer blood tests for Alzheimer ’s Disease

For the first time, people worried about their risk of Alzheimer’s disease can go online, order a blood test, and receive results in the privacy of their homes. This might seem appealing on the surface, but the development has Alzheimer’s researchers and clinicians up in arms. The Quest Diagnostics blood test, AD-Detect, measures elevated levels of amyloid-beta proteins, a signature characteristic of Alzheimer’s. Introduced in late July, the test is targeted primarily at people 50 and older who suspect their memory and thinking might be impaired and people with a family history of Alzheimer’s or genetic risks for the condition. Given Alzheimer’s is among the most feared of all medical conditions, along with cancer, this could be a sizable market, indeed. Nearly 7 million older adults in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to double by 2060 if medical breakthroughs don’t occur. But Alzheimer’s researchers and clinicians aren’t convinced the Quest test is backed by sound scientific research. The possibility of false-positive results is high, as is the likelihood that older adults won’t understand the significance of their results, they say. The test should be taken only under a physician’s supervision, if at all, they advise. And, priced originally at $399 (recently discounted to $299) and not covered by insurance, it isn’t cheap. Though blood tests for Alzheimer’s are likely to become common in the years ahead, the Alzheimer’s Ass...
Source: SharpBrains - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Brain/ Mental Health AD-Detect Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s biomarker amyloid-beta proteins brain health brain pathology cognitive cognitive-symptoms mini-strokes neurology neuropsychologist Quest Diagnostics sleep apnea Source Type: blogs