CHICAGO, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Innovations from two small Illinois biotech firms might be combined to make possible early diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease, reports Crain's Chicago Business.
Applied NeuroSolutions Inc. of Vernon Hills, Ill., has developed an Alzheimer's diagnosis test that's 85 percent to 95 percent accurate, company President John DeBernardis told the periodical. The test uses a sample of cerebral spinal fluid to detect a protein called p-tau that's associated with Alzheimer's.
The other company, Nanospere Inc. of Northbrook, Ill., has developed a method of using strands of DNA to detect extremely low concentrations of certain nucleic acids and proteins.
The idea is to combine Nanosphere's technology with Applied NeuroSolutions' test to allow the test to work on blood or other body fluids. It's hoped that will lead to earlier detection of Alzheimer's and a treatment for the disease, for which there currently is none.
The two companies told Crain's the test could become available within two years after further testing and clinical trials.
About 15 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease, for which there is no definitive test other than a post-mortem examination of the brain.
