Beyond Alzheimer’s: How Labcorp’s leadership in Alzheimer’s disease testing is guiding work in other neurological diseases

Nearly 7 million people in the U.S. live with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to grow to 12.7 million by 2050 if there are no major breakthroughs to improve diagnoses, monitoring and treatment. 

To help make these breakthroughs possible, Labcorp has spent the last three years developing the broadest portfolio of neurodegenerative blood biomarker assays in the industry. Recent additions to this portfolio include the ATN Profile, Beta Amyloid 42/40 ratio, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP), pTau-217 and Neurofilament Light Chain (NfL) tests. 

These tests not only help address historical challenges to Alzheimer’s diagnosis, they’re also helping pharmaceutical companies develop the next generation of Alzheimer’s therapies. What’s more, as Labcorp scientists and researchers continue to identify new biomarkers and develop new tests, they’re applying lessons learned to make a difference for patients with other dementias and neurological disorders.

“We’re working toward a future where we can help identify Alzheimer’s and other dementias earlier to improve patient outcomes,” says Dr. Joe Volpe, neurology business segment and discipline director at Labcorp.

Accelerating the path to Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Historically, Alzheimer’s diagnosis has been a long and difficult road for patients, says renowned neurologist and professor of neurology at the Barrow Neurological Institute, Dr. Marwan Sabbagh. 

"The fight against Alzheimer's is a very important thing for families, and the biggest challenge Alzheimer's patients face is getting the correct diagnosis," says Dr. Sabbagh. "Historically, patients come in and do a quick exam, and [the provider says] ‘okay, you don't have thyroid problems or B12 problems; you must have Alzheimer's.’ It turns out that approach, what we call a diagnosis by exclusion, is only accurate 3 out of 4 times."

Neurologists can order costly imaging tests and tests requiring painful lumbar punctures to support a diagnosis, but there has long been a demand for solutions that are faster, more cost-effective and less invasive. 

Labcorp’s ATN Profile offers a set of blood-based tools that helps determine the presence or absence of key biological changes (amyloid plaques, tau tangles and neurodegeneration) that are consistent with Alzheimer’s disease pathology. This gives providers more direction and objective evidence for what is happening with patients and allows primary care providers to refer patients more confidently to neurologists. It can also provide timely answers to help patients, family members and caregivers plan for the future.

"I believe Alzheimer's disease is at a transformative moment," says Dr. Sabbagh. "The idea that you could measure in your blood what's happening in your brain—20 years ago, we would've said it's impossible."

Determining dementia: Pursuing a comprehensive dementia profile

Physicians have more tools than ever to help answer crucial questions about whether a patient has Alzheimer’s, but it is not always as clear with a dementia diagnosis. Alzheimer’s accounts for 60% of all dementia cases, but the remaining 40% of dementia patients are left with another question: 

If Alzheimer’s isn’t causing these symptoms, what is? 

That’s a question Dr. Volpe and others at Labcorp are working to answer.

“The question of ‘does my patient have Alzheimer’s’ is secondary to the question ‘what is happening to my patient.’ While it’s great to provide clear, objective information to help determine whether a patient has Alzheimer’s, we want to be able to say much more,” says Dr. Volpe. “We’re committed to all patients. We can’t leave anyone behind.”

As Labcorp expands its Alzheimer’s test portfolio, its teams are eager to connect the dots on these other dementias in the hopes of creating a differential dementia profile. Such a test could not only rule in or rule out Alzheimer’s, but also help identify the true cause of symptoms when Alzheimer’s is ruled out. Ideally, the test could offer enough information for providers to distinguish Alzheimer’s from dementias like frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia, and it could help determine if there are multiple types of dementias occurring together.

There is plenty of work ahead before such a dementia profile becomes a reality, but Labcorp’s teams remain dedicated to advancing testing in this space. In fact, Dr. Volpe and his colleagues are already rolling up their sleeves.

“We’re expanding relationships with companies studying markers for depression and frontotemporal dementia. We’ve been looking into potential markers for vascular dementia. We’ve been researching technologies that might help us determine whether or not somebody has Lewy body dementia,” says Dr. Volpe. “We’re reading all the literature, talking to companies and researchers, trying to understand what’s out there. What have we tried, what haven’t we tried? We’re doing all this while keeping our thumb on the pulse on Alzheimer’s, because our work there isn’t done.”

Exploring future breakthroughs in neurological disease testing

With neurological disorders presenting in complex and varied ways in each patient, researchers must continuously seek breakthroughs in disease identification and treatment.

Dr. Volpe notes that several recent additions to Labcorp’s biomarker portfolio already have serious potential to support physicians beyond Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In fact, some of these biomarkers inform other neurodegenerative diseases in a more profound way than they inform Alzheimer’s. GFAP and (NfL), for example, have demonstrated exciting potential in multiple sclerosis (MS). 

“NfL and GFAP can make a really potent pair, and that has been demonstrated in the literature for MS,” says Dr. Volpe. “NfL has been demonstrated to be an effective tool of therapeutic monitoring, and GFAP has been shown to help track disease progression. This means NfL and GFAP can work together to help providers monitor patients with MS in a way they’ve never been able to before.”

Labcorp is also applying all the lessons learned developing its Alzheimer’s portfolio to make strides in Parkinson’s disease, concussion recovery and more. 

Powering the development of new Alzheimer’s therapies

The quest to find new methods to identify and treat Alzheimer's disease remains imperative as the global population ages and the number of people impacted is expected to grow dramatically. While researchers have made important advances in recent years, more work remains to be done.

From offering physicians clearer insights to inform diagnosis and treatment decisions to supporting the development of life-changing therapies, Labcorp stands committed to improving health and improving lives for everyone, everywhere living with a neurological condition. 

"At this point in time, Labcorp is an absolute leader in this space,” says Dr. Marcia Eisenberg, chief scientific officer and senior vice president of diagnostics laboratories at Labcorp. “Our pursuit with Alzheimer’s is a daily endeavor to help identify new markers in this space and to give physicians a tool to treat their patients and pharma a tool to develop better of drugs."

Visit the Labcorp Neurology webpage to learn more.