(Radio Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association say they’re thrilled with the announcement of a highly-accurate blood test for the disease that’s now much closer to being widely available. Lauren Livingston, spokeswoman for the association in Iowa, says it would mean a significant shift to simpler, more accurate detection and diagnosis, potentially eliminating current methods that are expensive, invasive, and not always accessible.  “Having a blood test that is around 90% accurate to help identify Alzheimer’s disease is a huge breakthrough,” Livingston says. “We’re just so excited to hopefully, in the near future, see this test be available at the doctor’s office.”

The blood tests, once they’re confirmed and F-D-A-approved, could enhance recruitment for Alzheimer’s clinical trials and slash wait times for Alzheimer’s disease assessments, and treatments to slow the progress of the disease. “It would be so much more accessible for people to be able to get a blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease,” Livingston says, “versus right now, you can do a memory screening, but often you aren’t able to get an official diagnosis unless you have a test, like a PET scan, which is not available in a lot of rural areas in the state and it also can be very expensive.” The report was released Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, underway in Philadelphia.

The research suggests the blood test could revolutionize the accuracy of diagnosis and provide a cleaner, quicker path to research participation and treatment.  “In Iowa this year, in the legislature, there was a bill that was passed that ensures that all Iowa-funded health insurance does have to cover biomarker testing, like this blood test,” Livingston says, “so it would be covered by Iowa health insurance, so that’s very exciting, too.”

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. In Iowa, more than 62,000 people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia, and there are nearly 100,000 family and friends caring for their loved ones with the disease.