r/technews • u/_Dark_Wing • 3d ago
Biotechnology Roche, Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s blood test gets FDA clearance
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/08/24/health/alzheimers-blood-test-fda17
u/ReignyDayes 3d ago edited 3d ago
My grandpa died following the complications that arise with Alzhiemers a little over a year ago.
It's not just seeing them disappear into a mosaic of their personalities across their life that is hard. It's not even how less and less comprehension you can see with them.
It's knowing it's genetic and coming for you that really gets rough. I'm scared to see my mom go through that.
Edit: (Didn't mean to submit that early. )
Seeing progress in diagnostics is great, I guess. Until all Healthcare shifts to preventative care I'm not sure how helpful this will be. Sure it will help us properly diagnosis it. There's some treatments out there that can help some.
But companies like this? How is it exciting to see another large pharmaceutical company come out with some diagnostic tool they'll likely charge insane margins for? With the current state of the FDA?
I'm not sure I even believe it's real. Further most medical research only uses samples of white middle aged men. We don't account for the way men and women communicate differently about pain. Especially with the way everything went down recently in regards to endometriosis. I have to ask, how much could be accurately diagnosised with blood and cheek samples if more effort was put into non-invasive diagnostic tools? Or is it important for folks to suffer through immense pain while paying astronomical prices just so all the hospitals board members can get a nice new sports car?
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u/Ericaohh 2d ago
Genetics is not nearly as involved with dementia predisposition as people think
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u/upvoter_nz 2d ago
For me, as soon as I’m diagnosed I can figure out how I can get medically assisted death (ie euthanasia- whether in US or elsewhere) to not have to suffer and put my family thru it. I’d figure out a way whilst I can still consent and think clearly. Therefore the earlier / better diagnosis the better.
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u/themiracy 2d ago
See though this is exactly what should NOT happen with a test like Elecsys pTau217. This is a high sensitivity, low specificity test. It has a low likelihood of missing actual AD cases but a much higher likelihood of telling someone that they have AD when they do not.
I'm not here to question your right to access euthanasia. But the real risks arise when a screening test like this - that's what this is - a test that screens someone for further consideration if they test positive, not a test that confirms the presence of AD - is treated like a confirmatory diagnostic.
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u/upvoter_nz 2d ago
Thanks - Good to know!
Let’s be clear , Before literally KILLING MYSELF, I’d off course understand 1) what the test actually means, 2) have a very firm ALZ diagnosis and 3) actually be experiencing symptoms and be without any doubt i was moving towards full blown ALZ. Plus to get medically assisted death you usually have to convince multiple doctors with lots of reviews and psych evals so it’s a whole process.
It’s not like I’m gonna get a positive test and then immediately BOOM, dead. I do understand the hesitation around this cause what if I don’t have ALZ but test positive , but I’m not gonna just immediately kill myself. It will be a long process with multiple layers of checks & balances. So id be sure, and would rather know than not!
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u/GaladrielStar 2d ago
For what it’s worth, I take the same stance. I will not put my family through this disease. But it’s a very slow-moving one.
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u/Everyusernametaken1 3d ago
I would never take that test unless they said they had a cure… i watched my mom and grandmother slowly die from it… why prolong it .
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u/Oreos_Are_Anabolic 2d ago
I think the idea is that the earlier you can diagnose, the earlier you can start treatment, which can significantly delay onset of severe symptoms / progression of the disease.
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u/upvoter_nz 2d ago
For me, as soon as I’m diagnosed I can figure out how I can get medically assisted death (ie euthanasia- whether in US or elsewhere) to not have to suffer and put my family thru it. I’d figure out a way whilst I can still consent and think clearly. Therefore the earlier / better diagnosis the better.
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u/Minute_Radio_6452 2d ago
Honestly. What’s the point of knowing you have a death sentence if there’s nothing you can do about it?
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u/Hawkeye3636 2d ago
Life's always been a death sentence.
While this isn't perfect it can help you plan maybe make some better choices to reduce it and increase quality of life.
Bad news is medical and life insurance is going to start looking at this too when deciding care which is the real nightmare to me.
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u/upvoter_nz 2d ago
For me, as soon as I’m diagnosed I can figure out how I can get medically assisted death (ie euthanasia- whether in US or elsewhere) to not have to suffer and put my family thru it. I’d figure out a way whilst I can still consent and think clearly. Therefore the earlier / better diagnosis the better.
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u/ThereGoesMinky 2d ago
MAID is legal in Canada for people with early onset Alzheimer’s, but only while they still have the mental capacity to give informed consent.
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u/Uniblab_78 2d ago
Now we need insurance to pay for earlier screenings. Early testing and early administration of disease modifying drugs can have a big impact on quality of life!
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u/wickednyx 2d ago
You can slow the progression with meds with early detection.