Alzheimer’s Disease Research Early Supporter of New Alzheimer’s Blood Test

There are over 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease today and by 2050, that number may reach over 14 million. This means it’s likely to affect people we know, including our friends and loved ones. Alzheimer’s Disease Research, a BrightFocus Foundation program, believes supporting early-career scientists’ bold ideas through research holds tremendous hope that one day, we will end this terrible disease.

Since Alzheimer’s Disease Research was founded, we have advanced innovative science by supporting over 860 projects involving more than 2,624 scientists. This work has led to better understanding of the causes and progression of Alzheimer’s, improved diagnostic tools, and important preventive measures people can take to help reduce their risk of this disease.

Once such diagnostic tool, rooted in key early funding from Alzheimer’s Disease Research, has arrived with the introduction of C2N Diagnostics’ PrecivityAD™ blood test. Researchers found that this test predicts Alzheimer’s brain pathology in people with memory and other cognitive issues. While the test itself cannot diagnose Alzheimer’s, it is an important new tool for physicians to aid in the evaluation process. This test does not involve any radiation and is noninvasive, requiring only a small blood sample. That sample is sent to C2N’s laboratory for analysis by mass spectrometry, and a healthcare provider will discuss the results with a patient. These features make the test more accessible than other diagnostic methods that physicians use to evaluate issues with memory and other cognitive issues and could pave the way for earlier diagnosis and treatment and greater enrollment in clinical trials. “This is a scientific breakthrough with the potential to dramatically change Alzheimer’s research and patient care now and into the future,” said Stacy Pagos Haller, President of Alzheimer’s Disease Research.

The test was developed by Alzheimer’s Disease Research grant recipients Phillip Verghese, PhD, and Joel Braunstein, MD, MBA, who built upon the work of previous grantees David Holtzman, MD, and Randall Bateman, MD. Dr. Braunstein said, “The best chance we have for treating Alzheimer’s disease will come from earlier detection and earlier intervention. We are grateful to Alzheimer’s Disease Research for being such a strong supporter every step of the way.”

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Your donation to Alzheimer’s Disease Research will help scientists find ways to better diagnose, prevent, treat, and ultimately cure Alzheimer’s as well as provide free, valuable information to the public about this disease.  

If you’re a military or federal employee, you can support Alzheimer’s Disease Research through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Our CFC number is 30518.

If you’re a private sector employee, you can also help fund Alzheimer’s Disease Research through your employer’s workplace giving program.

Click here if your company would like to start a workplace giving program to support Alzheimer’s Disease Research. We have partnered with America’s Charities, a workplace giving federation, which connects employees to the causes they care about the most.

Through your generosity to Alzheimer’s Disease Research, you can help end Alzheimer’s by donating:

• $2/week ($104/year) to help buy personal protective equipment, data storage equipment, surgical tools, and cell culture dishes in labs.
• $5/week ($260/year) to help purchase enough agarose, a powder used to make gel to isolate proteins, for several weeks in a biology lab. It could also purchase a vial of an antibody to detect tau in animal models of Alzheimer’s.
• $20/week ($1,040/year) to help cover the cost of an experiment to measure Alzheimer’s biomarkers (signs) in blood samples.
• $20 – $40/week ($1,000 – $2,000/year) to help send a promising young researcher to an international science conference to share research results – a critical venue for analysis of discoveries.

To learn more about the research that you can help support, visit

www.brightfocus.org/CFC.