The nonprofit Alzheimer's Association said that some blood tests can be used to diagnose the brain disorder in place of other measures like a PET scan or spinal tap. Heather Snyder, senior vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association, joins CBS News to discuss.

Washington

The Alzheimer's Association has stated that certain blood tests are now suitable for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, potentially replacing more invasive diagnostic methods such as PET scans or spinal taps. This follows the recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration of the first blood test for Alzheimer's diagnosis.

Additionally, findings from a large study presented by the Alzheimer's Association indicate that lifestyle interventions, including increased physical activity, a healthy diet, and engagement in intellectual and social activities, can improve cognition in older adults at risk for dementia. The study found that structured interventions provided cognitive benefits equivalent to being one to two years younger.

Some blood tests can be used to diagnose Alzheimer's

Two big pieces of news this week when it comes to both treating and preventing Alzheimer's disease. The nonprofit Alzheimer's Association today said that some blood tests can be used to diagnose the brain disorder in place of other measures like a PET scan or spinal tap. In May, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the first blood test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. And on Monday, the Alzheimer's Association also presented findings from a large study that say lifestyle changes can improve cognition in at-risk older adults. That includes increased physical exercise, a healthy diet, and engagement in intellectual and social activities. For more, let's bring in Heather Snyder. She's the Senior Vice President of Medical and Scientific Relations at the Alzheimer's Association and co-author of the US Pointer Study. Heather, thank you for being here. Explain for us how these tests work and how these blood tests are different from the scans or the spinal fluid tests. The Alzheimer's Association, an early and accurate diagnosis, has been really central to the work that we've done. It gives individuals the chance to make decisions about their care. And now that we have multiple FDA-approved treatments that are really targeted for individuals in the earliest stage of Alzheimer's, it's even more important that individuals have access to these tools and these tests. And they give you a window into what's happening in the brain when you have memory impairment. So we were also talking that you're also the co-author of the US Pointer Study, which looks at how lifestyle changes can improve cognition in older adults who are at risk for dementia or Alzheimer's. How much of a difference do these interventions actually make when it comes to diagnoses? Yeah, so this was in an at-risk population, so it was really looking at age-related cognitive decline. And two different interventions, a self-guided and a structured. And the structured had more intensity, more accountability with physical exercise, diet, looking at cognitive engagement, social interaction, and health, overall health monitoring. And what we saw, the big takeaway, was that individuals in that, while both groups saw an improvement in their cognition during the two-year intervention, individuals in the more structured group saw a benefit of around one to nearly two years comparable to an individual that was one to nearly two years younger than they were. Wow, one to nearly two years. Heather Snyder, we really appreciate your analysis. Thank you. Thank you so much.

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Canberra

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Global Tariffs

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Birmingham

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Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

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Hawaii

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New York

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London

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Kyiv

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Bogotá

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Moscow

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Zaporizhzhia

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Traverse City

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Bangkok

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Kuala Lumpur

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Stockholm

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Riedlingen

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Athens

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Breakdown