Mayo Clinic study supports FDA-approved Alzheimer's blood test

Recent Mayo Clinic research supports the reliability of the Lumipulse G pTau217/ß-Amyloid 1-42 Plasma Ratio for diagnosing Alzheimer's, according to a release.

The test, recently approved by the FDA, “can be used at outpatient memory clinics to diagnose the disease in patients with a range of cognitive impairment.”

Key findings:

·       The blood test showed accuracy comparable to cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in an outpatient clinic.

·       More than half (56%) of participants’ symptoms were found to be attributable to Alzheimer’s.

·       Impaired kidney function, which is also attributable to higher plasma p-tau217 concentrations, “should be taken into account when performing the blood test,” according to the study authors.

·       “Plasma p-tau217 concentrations were positive in 267 out of 509 patients, including 233 of 246 patients (95%) with cognitive impairment attributed to Alzheimer's disease.”

The study is published in Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.