This Alzheimer's blood test, PrecivityAD2, is based on the p-tau217 biomarker.
In one recent study, people very high p-tau217 had a 38% chance of progressing to cognitive impairment within 5 years vs 12% for those with low levels. The current tests cost about $200-300, so they're not unreasonable as a screening test. PrecivityAD2 looks to be priced around $1,400-$1,500 so at that price, this specific test likely only makes sense for people with established disease.
That sounds pretty expensive for me for a test with that low accuracy, especially when there's not much you can do different if it comes back high vs. coming back low.
Agreed that we can't do as much as we'd like. There are some general health things that are believed to prevent cognitive decline, such as managing cholesterol, HbA1c, blood pressure, sleep apnea, etc. One phrase I've heard is that cholesterol at age 50 predicts cognitive health at age 70.
But hopefully we'll start to have more options and wider approvals for things like anti-amyloid drugs.
Do we yet have any good avoidance or mitigation regimes, be they drug or otherwise for people who show positive on a test like this? The alternative is that it lets you put things in place for when you lose agency.
Good as in scientifically proven. Not speculative fantasy.
The most famous drug is donepezil (Aricept). This is very weakly effective on the whole. In most Alzheimer's sufferers, there is no effect. But some people respond well to it: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2328349
Galantamine, which is mechanistically similar, is another option. Interestingly, it's a natural product, which you can extract from the common snowdrop flower, galanthus nivalis, and many other plants.
We don’t currently have any data that shows any clear way to halt or slow Alzheimer’s.
As someone with family affected by this disease, it’s a very personal choice whether you want to know or not, but I wish people understood that there are many things you can do with it, particularly for those who will be there for you if/when it hits.
Taking care of a loved one with this disease is extremely hard, and it’s even harder when they haven’t had any chance to prepare for this eventuality. Stuff like written records of your history (health, life, etc.), clear powers of attorney, and so on.
It also makes things much easier for healthcare professionals.
The article doesn't explicitly say but presumably you can start taking the anti-amyloid drugs to slow down the progression immediately, there's also lifestyle changes that can be made (most of those would likely benefit most people)
> Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease is important since the first treatments capable of slowing the progression of the neurodegenerative disease recently became available to patients, and these drugs are more effective when started sooner rather than later.
Not a doctor or medical scientist, but my understanding is a) the effectiveness of those anti-amyloid drugs as a preventative tool is unclear, and b) they have a pretty scary safety profile.
Clearly the goal is to be able to prevent the disease from progressing or slow it significantly, but are we really there yet even if we have a test?
In one recent study, people very high p-tau217 had a 38% chance of progressing to cognitive impairment within 5 years vs 12% for those with low levels. The current tests cost about $200-300, so they're not unreasonable as a screening test. PrecivityAD2 looks to be priced around $1,400-$1,500 so at that price, this specific test likely only makes sense for people with established disease.
But hopefully we'll start to have more options and wider approvals for things like anti-amyloid drugs.
Good as in scientifically proven. Not speculative fantasy.
Galantamine, which is mechanistically similar, is another option. Interestingly, it's a natural product, which you can extract from the common snowdrop flower, galanthus nivalis, and many other plants.
Benzgalantamine, a galantamine prodrug, was approved in 2024. This has been, like many recent FDA approvals, somewhat controversial: https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/02/26/bmjebm-2025-114...
These drugs are, at best, stopgaps. There are no real mitigation regimes.
As someone with family affected by this disease, it’s a very personal choice whether you want to know or not, but I wish people understood that there are many things you can do with it, particularly for those who will be there for you if/when it hits.
Taking care of a loved one with this disease is extremely hard, and it’s even harder when they haven’t had any chance to prepare for this eventuality. Stuff like written records of your history (health, life, etc.), clear powers of attorney, and so on.
It also makes things much easier for healthcare professionals.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/combination-he...
> Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease is important since the first treatments capable of slowing the progression of the neurodegenerative disease recently became available to patients, and these drugs are more effective when started sooner rather than later.
Clearly the goal is to be able to prevent the disease from progressing or slow it significantly, but are we really there yet even if we have a test?