ROCHESTER — A Mayo Clinic-developed blood test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease has seen a "very positive" uptake from patients since Mayo Clinic Laboratories began offering it in April. The test is important because it can help patients get their Alzheimer's diagnoses more quickly and with fewer barriers, said Alicia Algeciras-Schimnich, Ph.D.
, a Mayo Clinic professor of laboratory medicine and pathology and co-director of the Clinical Immunoassay Laboratory. ADVERTISEMENT "Historically, the diagnosis of Alzheimer's has been a clinical diagnosis," which can include cognitive testing, spinal fluid tests and amyloid PET scans, Algeciras-Schimnich said. "It's usually a very time-consuming process that can be stressful for patients.
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The imaging being very expensive and the spinal fluid collection being an invasive procedure." Enter the (less costly, less invasive) blood test. Algeciras-Schimnich said it works by detecting a biomarker called p-Tau217, which points to the accumulation of amyloid protein in the brain characteristic of Alzheimer's.
For the past six months, Mayo Clinic Labs has been running these tests for patients at Mayo Clinic and other medical centers. "The test is available now to, really, all patients through their local physicians," Algeciras-Schimnich said. "Any physician can order the test through Mayo Clinic Labs.
" Right now, the test is meant for people who are showing symptoms of cognitive decline. Diagnosing the disease earlier, like with the blood .
