USA Today Article - A Blood Test for Alzheimer’s? Yes — And Here’s Why It Matters

With Alzheimer’s disease affecting millions of Americans, clinicians need practical diagnostic tools. Blood‑based biomarkers are gaining attention as an accessible approach to evaluating Alzheimer’s pathology.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), characterized by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, is the most common cause of dementia. An estimated 7.4 million Americans are currently living with the disease, a number projected to nearly double by 2060.¹ Although anti-amyloid therapies are now available to slow cognitive decline associated with AD, they work best if given in the early symptomatic stages.²

The challenge is that existing diagnostic modalities have limitations. Positron emission tomography uses radioactive tracers to detect amyloid plaques, but accessibility and unexpected costs make these scans impractical for many patients. Cerebrospinal fluid testing provides another option for evaluating Alzheimer’s disease-associated biomarkers but requires an invasive lumbar puncture. As a result, there is an urgent need for diagnostic approaches that provide accurate results while remaining accessible, economical, and minimally invasive.³

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