NeuroQuest, a medical device manufacturer based in Israel, announced that it will begin a clinical trial of a new diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s. According to a local newspaper, Israel21c, the company will recruit 170 patients in total for the trial.

According to information from the company, the new Alzheimer’s diagnostic blood test is designed to test for certain cellular immunological components in a patient’s blood. If these immunological components malfunction, an individual can be at an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease. Based on this information, Israeli researchers built a diagnostic test that uses the malfunctioning status of immunological components as a biomarker for Alzheimer's.

According to initial trials, the blood-based diagnostic test shows an accuracy rate of 87 percent and a specificity rate of 85 percent for the detection of ALS and Alzheimer’s.

By detecting dementia or Alzheimer's at an early stage, researchers believe that patients will be more responsive to treatment. Since many neurodegenerative disorders are progressive, halting their progress as early as possible is usually desirable.

Last month, the European Union granted CE Mark approval for an Alzheimer's diagnostic test that used an internal agent with PET imaging. However, PET scans can cost as much as $6,000. With a blood-based diagnostic test, regular screening for dementia and Alzheimer’s may be a possibility in the future.

References

http://israel21c.org/health/blood-test-for-alzheimers