Summary
In the wake of the controversial U.S. regulatory approval of the Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab, physicians expect many patients with memory problems will want to know whether they are eligible. But a definitive diagnosis is expensive and time-consuming, involving a hunt for indicators of disease, or biomarkers, in patients’ spinal fluid or in positron emission tomography scans. The demand threatens to overwhelm the health system. An innovation could help manage the deluge: simple blood tests for molecules that may indicate signs of disease in the brain. With several promising tests under development, companies are now working to make them fit for widespread clinical use—and doctors are scrambling to decide when and how to use them.
