Looking at More than Memory: Functional Assessments and Blood Tests for Alzheimer's Disease in Primary Care

Though new blood-based biomarker tests have made it less expensive, less invasive and more accessible to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, they can’t replace the diagnostic process as a whole. Dr. Eric Widera joins the podcast to discuss the importance of assessing function when making a dementia diagnosis, what functional change can look like and how this kind of assessment can be incorporated into primary care practice, as well as debate how Alzheimer’s disease blood tests should be used in primary care.

Guest: Eric Widera, MD, professor of medicine, clinician-educator, Division of Geriatrics, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), director, Chief of Geriatrics, Palliative and Extended Care, medical director, Hospice & Palliative Care Service, San Francisco VA Health Care System, co-founder, GeriPal podcast, co-founder, ePrognosis

Read Dr. Widera’s viewpoint, “The Limited Role of Alzheimer Disease Blood-Based Biomarkers in Primary Care,” published by JAMA Internal Medicine online.

Read the viewpoint by Drs. Chin and Widera, “Importance of Function for Alzheimer Diagnosis and Management—More Than Memory,” published by JAMA Internal Medicine online.

Visit the University of Washington’s Cognition in Primary Care website, mentioned by Dr. Widera at 11:50 and 43:39, online.

Listen to Drs. Chin and Johnson’s episode of the Geripal podcast, “LATE vs Alzheimer’s: Biomarkers, Mixed Dementia, and Clinical Realities with Nate Chin & Sterling Johnson,” online.

Listen to GeriPal on their website or wherever you get your podcasts.

Read more about Dr. Widera at his profile on the UCSF Department of Medicine website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

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Learn about Dr. Chin’s book, When Memory Fades: What to Expect at Every Stage, from Early Signs to Full Support for Alzheimer's and Dementia.