Blood testing in 2022 will provide a breakthrough in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease research

In the past few decades, despite advances in biomedicine in cancer and other diseases, neuroscience has proven to be a difficult problem

However, with the advent of new detection methods for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, this situation may soon change

We are expected to make some exciting progress in 2022, including new methods to detect the accumulation of certain proteins in the brain, and broader and more convenient blood screening methods

The recognition rate of Oxford Parkinson's disease screening is as high as 89%

This month, researchers at the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre demonstrated the rationale for a possible new disease test

A sample of cerebrospinal fluid is collected from the lower part of the spine through a lumbar puncture

Mix the specially labeled α-synuclein particle samples to observe and analyze the protein reaction, including whether the characteristic protein clumps begin to grow

This detection method is based on previous studies on α-synuclein, and has been proven to accurately and repeatedly identify 89% of Parkinson's patients, while excluding 96% of non-Parkinson's patients

However, since no link between diagnosis and symptom severity has been found, further research is needed to link the test to the measurement of Parkinson's disease progression, but the test method has been shown to provide a window to understand the molecular mechanisms of the brain

It is worth noting that α-synuclein is the core of Parkinson's disease research, such as ACI Immuno Biotechnology, which is also using this protein as a PET imaging tracer and a target for antibody therapy and vaccine development

A drop of blood detects Alzheimer's disease

C2N Diagnostics, which develops blood tests for Alzheimer's disease, will introduce a new test method from the end of 2020

The test relies on mass spectrometry to measure the floating of amyloid beta peptide and different versions of apolipoprotein E in the blood

Although this test alone cannot diagnose Alzheimer's disease, this non-invasive diagnostic method can be used for a wider range of clinical evaluations

C2N said that the Precivity AD test can help predict the state of amyloid plaques in the brain, which is also one of the hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases

Recent data even show that the accuracy of the test is basically the same as that of the PET scan

In addition, as the Aduhelm therapy targeting amyloid is approved by the FDA this year, there may be a high demand for detection tools for objective measurement of disease biomarkers in the future

Quanterix, another testing and research company, said that the detection of specific types of tau in blood samples may better explain the development of this disease than amyloid
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The technology produced by the company has been used in Biogen
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There are also clinical trials by Eli Lilly
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The researchers found that the Simoa blood test can look for the presence of a tau protein called pau-181 in the blood of patients
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Identify rare neurodegenerative diseases (called frontotemporal degeneration)
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Although the test is currently only used for research, Quanterix's blood test received a breakthrough certification from the FDA in October last year
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The company will continue to develop its potential as a clinical diagnostic aid for Alzheimer's disease, including for people over 50
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Patients who show signs of early cognitive decline need to be tested
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