FDA clears first blood test for diagnosing Alzheimer’s
The FDA has approved the first blood test for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease, which could speed the path to treatment for patients
The Food and Drug Administration approved on Friday the first blood test for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease, opening up a quicker way for patients to get detected for the neurological condition and receive treatment.
The test, developed by Japan-based Fujirebio Diagnostics, uses a blood sample to detect the presence of plaques in the brain called amyloid that are thought to be linked to Alzheimer’s. The current method of detecting amyloid involves PET imaging scans of the brain that can be inconvenient and costly. Amyloid can also be detected in spinal fluid, but such tests are more invasive.
