“The test, the first of its kind to be cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, is for people 55 and older who already have memory problems or other signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

The results show whether the brain of a person with cognitive symptoms also has amyloid plaques, clumps of toxic proteins that build up in the spaces between brain cells. The presence of plaques in a person with cognitive symptoms usually confirms an Alzheimer’s diagnosis…

One benefit of a readily-available blood test will be more accurate diagnoses, Fillit says, noting that currently, primary care doctors correctly diagnose patients only about 60% of the time.”

From NPR.