First Alzheimer’s Blood Test Rolled Out for Clinical Use in US

The test will be a cheaper and more accessible alternative to currently available diagnostic tools, researchers say.

Written byShawna Williams

| 4 min read

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Update (April 21, 2022): In research published today in JAMA Network Open, C2N Diagnostics scientists and their colleagues report that the company’s blood test had an overall accuracy of 81 percent in predicting whether adults with cognitive impairment would show amyloid plaques on a PET scan.

The first blood test designed to assist physicians in determining whether a patient has Alzheimer’s disease is now available in most US states, the company C₂N Diagnostics announced October 29. The test measures biomarkers that frequently reflect the presence of amyloid plaques in the brain—a hallmark of Alzheimer’s—as well as the presence of a gene variant that increases the risk of the disease.

“I’m very excited about it,” says Suzanne Schindler, a neurologist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who was involved in testing an earlier version of the assay but is not connected to C2N. ...

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a patient getting blood drawn for testing

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Meet the Author

Shawna Williams
Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.
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