Article Medically Reviewed by Dr.Chen, Our Chief Medical Officer
“The New More Hopeful Face of Alzheimer’s Disease” was the title of a recent Wall Street Journal article. The WSJ journal article continued, “Advances in early detection and management of the disease have changed the way patients view an Alzheimer’s diagnosis — and how they live with it.” This statement has fortunately never been truer!
As we commented in a prior email, published data now shows that 40% of the risk for Alzheimer’s and other dementias is modifiable and in our control. We are never too young or too old to make lifestyle changes that can prevent Alzheimer’s Disease or mitigate progression of early disease. Additionally, there are now new immunotherapies to remove amyloid plaques from the brain, which can significantly slow the progression of cognitive decline. Studies indicate that patients on these therapies have up to 27% less decline over the initial 18-month course of treatment.
Whether lifestyle interventions or immunotherapy, the key to prevention and slowing progression is early detection. While brain MRIs, brain PET scans and genetics can facilitate early detection, new blood tests are now able to help as well.
By way of scientific background, amyloid plaques and tau tangles accumulate in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. These markers can pass through the blood-brain barrier and leak into the blood where they can be measured. Assessing an individual’s blood amyloid and tau status as normal (-) or abnormal (+) is one way to objectively measure these biological changes.
We are now offering Quest AD-Detect® blood-based Alzheimer’s disease blood testing for beta-amyloid 42/40 ratio (Aβ42/40) and phosphorylated tau181 (p-tau181). These tests provide actionable insights to aid in potentially identifying patients in the earliest stages of the disease, when interventions are most likely to be effective, including clinical trials of pharmaceuticals.
As part of our 100+ goal, HLI team is delighted to introduce another modality of enhanced dementia screening for our members. We will continue to invest in the optimization of health span using the tools of science and medicine for the benefit of our members.
In health,
Longevity Care Team at Human Longevity
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