Prognosis
New Alzheimer’s Blood Tests May Be Game-Changers for Treating the Disease
- New tests seen as alternative to scans, invasive spinal taps
- Doctors debate whether products are ready for wider use
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There’s no simple way to tell who has Alzheimer’s disease, but with a blockbuster treatment for millions of Americans on the horizon, blood-test makers are gearing up to change this.
Even doctors who were initially skeptical about blood tests for the condition are gaining confidence that products from Quest Diagnostics Inc., Quanterix Corp. and C2N Diagnostics can help distinguish which patients may qualify for treatment with the experimental drug lecanemab, expected to be approved next year. The drug is the first ever to clearly slow the progress of Alzheimer’s, the brain-wasting disease that affects some 6 million Americans.