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This August, the FDA cleared PrecivityAD2, a blood test for Alzheimer's disease that can be used in adults as young as 40 who are showing signs of cognitive decline -- the youngest age threshold of any FDA-cleared Alzheimer's blood test to date.
Previous tests were limited to patients 55 and older.
That lower age threshold matters. Alzheimer's is not only a disease of the very old, and here in Hawaiʻi, where many of us live in multigenerational families, an earlier diagnosis can give families more time to understand what is happening, explore treatment options, plan for the future and connect with needed care.
But scientific progress only matters if patients can access it.
Medicare still lacks a clear pathway to cover Alzheimer's blood-based screening tests, even as new tests continue to receive FDA clearance. Without coverage, advances that could transform how we detect and eventually prevent Alzheimer's risk becoming available only to those who can afford them.
Congresswoman Jill Tokuda can help change that by cosponsoring the bipartisan Alzheimer's Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act, which already has 250 cosponsors in Congress.
Hawaiʻi families should not have to wait years for access to catch up with what science already makes possible.
My family is aging, just like families across Maui and throughout Hawaiʻi. I hope we are moving toward a future where, if we have the opportunity to identify Alzheimer's earlier and intervene before the disease has taken so much away, that opportunity is available to every family, not just those who can afford it.
The ASAP Act is an important step toward making that future possible.
Mansa Devaki
Kula