A very common complaint among patients, especially those of older age, is forgetfulness. However, there are several factors that neurologists consider before settling on a definitive decision. These factors can include aging of the body, reducing blood flow to the brain, or portentously Alzheimer’s disease.
Before making any conclusion, doctors focus on Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. It includes the assessment of symptoms and different diagnostic imaging techniques. The Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis primarily relies on administering memory and thinking skills.
Alzheimer’s disease Diagnosis
To reach a definitive Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, the patient has to go through several tests. An autopsy is the only way for doctors to make a decision. Additionally, medical imaging techniques and, in this case, brain imaging methods are used with a set of spinal fluid tests to spot the disease. These tests also help in the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
Although these tests are effective and accurate, they are invasive and expensive to conduct. Moreover, all of these tests are not available for routine care but are limited to research settings. Since Alzheimer’s disease has millions of patients worldwide, it is not an uncommon neurodegenerative disorder. Thus, the demand for these tests is high, while the available options are limited.
Modern Alzheimer’s disease Diagnosis
A new era is emerging where Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis can start in the doctor’s office. Advanced medical technology is helping doctors to spot the early signs by using a blood sample. The results gained from these tests are quite accurate, and it all happens in a shorter period than other invasive techniques. Through this, doctors carry out the Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and plan treatments accordingly.
According to a recent report, over five million individuals in the United States have Alzheimer’s. Moreover, it is predicted that by the year 2030, there will be about 76 million people worldwide who will have to get a diagnosis for Alzheimer’s or any other type of dementia.
The C2N Diagnostics
The C2N Diagnostics test benefits the Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. It is a blood test that was developed in St. Louis, Mo., last fall. As a result, this diagnostic test became available for more US patients as a routine lab test. It is important to note that the C2N Diagnostics is regulated under the CMS Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) program.
Additionally, this diagnostic test has already received a CE mark as a diagnostic medical device in the EU. It proves enough that it is a safe test that delivers accurate results to diagnose the disease. Health Therefore, the environmental protection
Michelle Mielke, a neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic, says that developing a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis is phenomenal. However, he also says that the neuroscience field has been trying to develop something like this for a long time, and it only became possible in the last few years.
How Does the C2N Test Work?
The C2N test uses a different technique which is analytic. It is known as the PrecivityAD which uses mass spectrometry for the detection of beta-amyloid. It is a fragment of the protein, which is a pathological trademark of the disease.
Normally, the beta-amyloid proteins start accumulating to form plaques visible in brain scans conducted with diagnostic medical imaging. These can be seen two decades before the patient begins noticing episodes of memory loss.
As the plaques continue to build up in the brain, the levels of beta-amyloid start to decline in the fluid surrounding it. These changes are measurable in the spinal fluid samples. Now, these can be detected in blood as well as the beta-amyloid concentrations are noticeably lower. It confirms the Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis.
Who are the PrecivityAD Tests For?
It is the first-ever blood test approved for widespread use for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. PrecivityAD is also the only advanced assay that detects the condition early, a lot earlier than the first symptoms are visible.
The PrecivityAD tests are meant for individuals who fall in the age bracket of 60 to 91 years old with early signs of forgetfulness. The physician will send the blood samples to labs dedicated to C2N tests. The results are usually ready in 10 business days.
Results of the C2N Test
The results are given in a probability score that shows the likelihood of an amyloid-positive brain scan. This test is not used as a stand-alone report for detecting Alzheimer’s. Rather an additional test to distinguish between Alzheimer’s and other conditions that can cause memory loss.
This test will cost an individual about $1250, and medical insurance companies do not cover it yet. The addition of medical imaging and diagnostic imaging can make the costs much higher. However, financial assistance programs can bring this cost down to $25 to $400 for patients who are eligible for the test.
On the other hand, looking for the beta-amyloid for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis is not the only option. Some researchers have emphasized focusing on other disease markets like the formation of the protein tau. The detection of this protein in the blood tests can prove a more promising result for Alzheimer’s disease.
The beta-amyloid levels start plummeting at a very early stage of the disease and then become stagnant. However, tau protein starts to rise later on and continues to do so for the later stages of the disease. This small observation suggests that an amyloid test is ideal for early detection, but a tau test will be more meaningful later.
The Effectiveness of Tau Blood Tests
According to neurologist Oskar Hansson of Lund University Sweden, a tau blood test shows accuracy when a patient is on the verge of decline or already shows Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.
Two separate studies were published by Thijssen and Hansson that prove tau blood tests can distinguish Alzheimer’s from other brain diseases. Therefore, it’s relevant for the Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. Additionally, CSF measurements and PET and CT scans can detect the disease and the tau blood tests.
Thijssen says that researchers are quite enthusiastic about these findings. However, most of these studies were conducted in groups of patients treated in neurology clinics.
So far, these tests have not been released, but Thijssen believes that they are ready to step into the world and start practicing on patients who complain of memory loss.
Accuracy of Tests
The accuracy of these tests is always questionable. For example, people who have kidney illnesses will have higher levels of protein in their blood. It can skew the result, and Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis can be delayed. Similarly, people with a high body mass index have higher volumes of blood. It can significantly reduce levels of protein instead.
In such cases where the symptoms of memory loss direct doctors towards signs of neurological diseases, diagnostic imaging like magnetic resonance imaging can prove effective. Contacting a diagnostic imaging network in such scenarios is the best course to ensure an accurate diagnosis.
The UCSF neurologist Dr. Gil Rabinovici validates these issues about the accuracy of blood tests. According to him, such markers need verification in a more diverse and generalizable cohort. He is currently leading a new study on 5000 patients getting treated in 350 different clinics. The study focuses on blood tests versus amyloid PET scans for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. Additionally, Rabinovici focuses on people from the Black and Latin populations since he believes they are underrepresented in all researches related to dementia.