Advancing Blood-Based Biomarkers for Alzheimer's and Cognitive Care

For the first time in health care's long search for answers on Alzheimer's disease, we have two reasons for hope: simple, accurate diagnostics and approved treatments that slow progression.

Dementia science has advanced at a remarkable pace, transforming Alzheimer's from a condition defined largely by late-stage symptom recognition into one that can increasingly be detected and addressed earlier. The latest breakthrough: ultra-sensitive laboratory equipment can now detect the same Alzheimer's biomarkers previously found only in spinal fluid—using nothing more than a standard blood draw. These Food and Drug Administration-cleared blood-based biomarkers (BBMs) open the door to scalable, minimally invasive, cost-effective early detection.

But is the health-care system ready to use them?

To find out, the Milken Institute Future of Aging and its Alliance to Improve Dementia Care interviewed 32 experts, surveyed 22 stakeholders across six segments, analyzed the academic and grey literature, held a patient focus group, and conducted a five-category Readiness Ranking Survey.

Advancing Blood-Based Biomarkers for Alzheimer's and Cognitive Care reveals what they found—including:

• The top barriers and accelerators to widespread BBM adoption
• Four real-world examples of health systems successfully embedding BBMs into cognitive care
• A case study of coverage changes for genetic testing
• Concrete recommendations for stakeholders to make BBMs the new standard of care

Click Download Summary to read the executive summary now. The full report will be available on July 21.