Dr Emma Law - pTau217 Blood Test for Alzheimer's: What the FDA Clearance Means

**Dr Emma Law narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.** The FDA has cleared Roche's Elecsys pTau217 blood test to help identify amyloid pathology in people aged 55 and over who are already showing signs of cognitive decline. Most of the attention has gone to what that means for diagnosis and for access to new treatments. In this blog, Emma takes a different angle, asking what it changes for the people who design and deliver dementia studies. Her view is that a clearance like this reshapes the economics of recruitment, opens up questions about the earliest stages of disease that were previously too expensive to ask, and moves some of the most important work towards understanding how biomarkers get used in practice rather than towards discovering new ones. She is also clear that imaging is not being replaced, and that the researchers who do best over the next decade will be the ones who know how to combine the two. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/ptau217-blood-test-what-fda-clearance-means/ -- Dr Emma Lawhttps://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/profile-dr-emma-law-neuroprogressive-and-dementia-network/is Strategic Manager for the The Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network in Scotland. Emma has 13 years experience as a Clinical Trails Network Manager and over 35 years experience as a Nurse, many of which were spent in the delivery of Clinical Research Trials. Emma completed her PhD and is passionate about giving people living with dementia and their carers access to participate in research. -- Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk This podcast is brought to you by University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support. -- **Leave us a Tip** https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support **Follow us on social media:** - https://www.instagram.com/dementia\_researcher/ - https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/ - https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunity - https://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher - https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social **Download and Register with our Community App:** https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher