Quest Diagnostics Extends Alzheimer’s Disease Portfolio with New AI-Powered Test Service from uMETHOD Health
By Eric Quimby
Secaucus, NJ and Raleigh, NC – May 4, 2023 – Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced nationwide availability of the RestoreU™ Dementia Panel, a risk assessment and care plan service created by uMETHOD Health, a health technology company specializing in precision medicine for chronic diseases, to help physicians close care gaps for patients with cognitive decline.
The RestoreU service employs artificial intelligence (AI) developed by uMETHOD to create personalized care plans aimed at helping physicians improve patient care while also satisfying cognitive care guidelines. The service incorporates results of laboratory tests ordered by physicians from Quest Diagnostics along with the patient’s health history, including comorbidities, lifestyle habits and medications. uMETHOD’s AI platform then assesses 50-plus risk factors, pinpointing areas of concern and ultimately generating a personalized care plan with evidence-based, actionable treatment recommendations.
The report may also help identify measures to potentially slow or, if possible, halt dementia disease progression. Care plans may include pharmacological and supplementation-based treatment and lifestyle habit recommendations, which the physician can use to counsel the patient.
“With so much attention on emerging therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, it is easy to overlook the growing body of science suggesting a preventive care approach can help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in some patients,” said Michael K. Racke, M.D., Neurology Medical Director, Quest Diagnostics. “In addition, not all cognitive disorders signify dementia and may, in some cases, be due to reversible causes. RestoreU provides robust personalized insights to help the physician tease out the confounding factors causing a patient’s cognitive decline and identify measures that may help improve care and outcomes.”
The RestoreU service complements Quest’s comprehensive portfolio of dementia laboratory services, featuring the company’s advanced AD-Detect Amyloid Beta (AB) 42/40 Ratio blood test for assessing risk of Alzheimer’s disease. RestoreU can help the physician further refine this risk assessment, identify alternative possible causes of cognitive dysfunction and inform care.
“For the first time in history, disease modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are available for clinical care,” said Marwan Sabbagh, MD, FAAN, Behavioral-Cognitive Neurologist and a Professor of Neurology. “However, treating cognitive decline patients continues to be a complex process as most patients have multiple treatable causes. The advanced RestoreU care plan can provide a thorough answer for the physician and the patient on possible causes of cognitive decline and how to address them. The RestoreU service has helped me improve the care I deliver and may enable primary care clinicians to deliver the same level of care within the practical constraints of today’s busy clinical practice.”
