Complex Questions, Clear Answers.
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Assessing cognitive changes in adult patients suspected of Alzheimer's disease demands both timely action and clinical sensitivity. Traditional pathways often involve long waits, invasive procedures and uncertainty, all of which can delay care for individuals experiencing cognitive impairment. Labcorp offers advanced and comprehensive neurological testing specifically designed to inform care decisions and support confident referrals to specialists.
Our solutions translate complex neurological data into actionable insights, supporting both early detection and continuity of care.
As the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease rises and patient management strategies improve, primary care increasingly serves as the entry point for initial evaluation.
Labcorp has a comprehensive suite of lab services that can aid in evaluation of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). From ruling out reversible conditions that may mimic the symptoms of MCI (vitamin deficiencies, thyroid dysfunction, etc.) to high-performance Alzheimer’s biomarkers, Labcorp’s testing solutions can expedite care and patient management.
Advances in high-sensitivity immunoassays now enable blood biomarkers, such as phosphorylated tau 181 (pTau-181) and phosphorylated tau 217 (pTau-217), to serve as reliable aids in the assessment of suspected Alzheimer’s disease. Accessible blood-based tests help you better determine which individuals may benefit from referral or more in-depth neurological assessment, supporting clear clinical pathways and care continuity.
Labcorp is proud to offer the broadest blood-based biomarker portfolio for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In the primary care setting, our portfolio can provide important clinical insights that expedite care and inform patient management decisions.
Correctly interpreting results of blood-based biomarkers can help you make informed decisions about the next steps in evaluating cognitive impairment. Importantly, quantitative data should always be considered alongside patient history, physical exam findings, and cognitive assessments.
Successful integration of blood biomarker tests for individuals suspected of having Alzheimer’s or other forms of cognitive impairment begins with appropriate patient selection and thoughtful consideration of pre-test probability.
Our biomarker assays are recommended for adults aged 55 and older with symptoms of MCI confirmed by cognitive assessment tools such as the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) or Mini-Cog. Using objective tools to verify memory or cognitive changes increases the likelihood that test results will yield clinically meaningful information.
Before ordering a test, conduct a comprehensive evaluation to exclude other treatable or reversible causes of cognitive symptoms, including:
Excluding these common conditions enhances the clinical value of amyloid and tau biomarkers, allowing you to focus assessments where most needed. To support this complex decision-making, we offer educational resources and clinical tools, helping you provide targeted and person-centered care for individuals experiencing cognitive changes.
Examples:
Examples:
Cognitive assessments and ruling out reversible conditions that may mimic the symptoms of dementia and AD prior to utilization of blood biomarkers will increase the pre-test probability of AD and thus increase their predictive value.
The laboratory evaluation of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) aims to identify reversible or treatable conditions that may mimic or exacerbate neurodegenerative disease. Current guidance from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Neurology (AAN), American Geriatrics Society (AGS), and the Alzheimer’s Association supports a focused, first-line approach for the laboratory evaluation of the most common manageable conditions that may lead to the symptoms of cognitive impairment.
Optimize care management with the industry's leading portfolio of biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease assessment. Our solutions empower you to deliver timely evaluation, streamline referrals, and bring confidence and clarity to individuals experiencing symptoms of cognitive impairment. Biomarkers results should be interpreted within the context of all clinical findings.
Intended use: Aid in determining the presence or absence of key biological changes that are consistent with Alzheimer's disease pathology in patients with symptoms of cognitive impairment
Test Name | Test No. | Clinical Comments | Performance |
|
(FDA-cleared) | Intended to rule out that a patient’s cognitive impairment is due to amyloid pathology in a primary care setting. Patients with negative results have a lower likelihood of amyloid pathology and should be investigated for other causes of cognitive impairment. A positive result does not rule out amyloid pathology. Further evaluation is recommended. | NPV: 97.9% | |
Intended to aid in the biological identification of Alzheimer’s disease by measuring pTau-217, which has been shown to be a surrogate for amyloid pathology | NPV: 90% PPV: 91% | ||
| Beta Amyloid 42/40 Ratio | 505725 | Quantifies the amount of beta amyloid 42 and 40 proteins in a plasma patient sample and calculates the ratio of those proteins, providing an indication of amyloid pathology for Alzheimer’s disease | NPV: 96% PPV: 87% |
The prevalence of AD varies substantially by care setting. This distinction is particularly relevant for blood biomarkers because disease prevalence, and thus pre-test probability, directly influences the predictive value of test results. For any diagnostic test, positive and negative predictive values will vary depending on the population in which the test is applied.
pTau-217 and Beta Amyloid 42/40 Ratio have been extensively studied and consistently demonstrate strong performance for detecting amyloid pathology. When pre-test probability is increased, through cognitive assessments and exclusion of alternative diagnoses, the PPV of higher-sensitivity assays such as pTau-217 improves. In such contexts, pTau-217 and Beta Amyloid 42/40 Ratio are valuable rule-in biomarkers in primary care.
Elecsys® pTau-181 demonstrates performance intentionally optimized for lower-prevalence settings such as primary care. For tests with high specificity, NPV increases as pre-test probability decreases. Accordingly, in workflows where comprehensive cognitive testing or alternative-cause exclusion has not yet occurred, Elecsys pTau-181 can function effectively as an initial rule-out test for amyloid-related pathology in patients with low pre-test probability of AD.
As primary care evolves, so do evaluation tools for Alzheimer’s disease. As your neurology partner, we're proud to offer the FDA-cleared Elecsys® pTau-181, ATN Profile, and pTau-27 blood tests and the leading portfolio of neurological biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease assessment.
Contact a Labcorp representative to learn more about how we can help meet your neurology testing needs
