A novel blood test could eliminate millions in spending on PET imaging to assess for Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research.
The approach analyzes levels of amyloid proteins using highly sensitive mass spectrometry. Experts believe the blood test could help physicians to determine whether the degenerative disease is the cause of mild cognitive impairment, eliminating the need for imaging.
Up to 99% of patients with a negative result for amyloid proteins, based on a PET scan, would likely be negative using the blood-based approach, researchers detailed in Frontiers in Neurology [1].
“The findings of this analysis in a large cohort have significant implications for AD care management because they potentially mean many patients could benefit from this type of blood-based assay that has advantages relative to current approaches,” study co-author David E. Vaillancourt, PhD, with the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida, said in a statement.
Scientists analyzed 6,192 lab test results from patients whose physician submitted specimens to vendor Quest Diagnostics (also a study author). Performance of the Quest blood test was established using 250 specimens from study participants with amyloid PET imaging.
The test’s negative predictive value was 99% in a population of patients with moderate prevalence of AD (40%) based on PET positivity. Vaillancourt and colleagues then applied this negative predictive value to the 6,192 specimens and determined that 40% could reliably forgo evaluation by positron emission tomography.
At roughly $5,000 per PET scan, the authors estimate the U.S. healthcare system could save nearly $9 million (or about $1,432 per patient) on imaging, after subtracting costs for the blood tests and other items.
“These findings support the use of this blood-based assay for assessing presence of AD pathology in individuals with cognitive impairment and can help reduce PET evaluations of patients with low likelihood of AD pathology, allowing for more efficient allocation of limited imaging resources,” the study concluded.
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Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.