The US Food and Drug Administration has given marketing clearance to a blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, making the test the first to get signoff to aid in the early detection of the disease in the United States.

The new test, known as the Lumipulse G pTau217/ß-Amyloid 1-42 Plasma Ratio, detects amyloid plaques through blood testing, a type of protein indicative of Alzheimer's, the Alzheimer's Association explained in a Friday press release. These plaques can be seen in patients through a PET scan, according to the FDA.