 Diagnostic test for brain diseases on the way . . .
A blood test that can distinguish between Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease could be launched in Europe in summer 2008, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry |
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| Power3 Medical Products ceo Steve Rash |
A blood test that gives an early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease and can distinguish between Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease could be launched in Europe this summer. Oklahoma-based proteomics company Power3 Medical Products plans to be selling the test called NuroPro by Q3 2008. ‘We plan to launch in Grece first, but we should also have tests on the US market by late Q3 or Q4,’ said ceo Steve Rash.
‘Currently, there is no diagnostic test for any neurodegenerative disease on the market. We will be the first,’ he says. Several groups have been working on diagnostic tests for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Diagnoses are currently based solely on a clinical diagnosis of symptoms.
Power3 has identified and patented several blood proteins (Expert Review of Proteomics 2008, 5, 1-8; Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 2006, 342, 1034-1039) associated with neurodegenerative disease. The NuroPro test measures a suite of 59 protein biomarkers, the relative levels of which are used to distinguish between Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease or tell whether a patient is disease free.
The same 59 biomarker panel is used for both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s but at different quantification for each biomarker. ‘We use different databases for each disease and we apply our bio-statistical analysis against each disease database. The tests are highly accurate with a specificity and sensitivity in the high 90s,’ according to Rash.
Such a test would be particularly useful for monitoring the progression of disease and assessing the effectiveness of drugs, according to Kieran Breen, director of research at the Parkinson’s Disease Society. But he says, while the test seems promising, larger studies need to be conducted before it can be confirmed as being helpful in making a diagnosis. Susan Sorensen of the UK Alzheimer’s Society says: ‘It remains unclear which group of proteins gives the definitive signs of Alzheimer’s disease… Some suggest Alzheimer’s, for example, is too complex to be identified in this way.’
Two clinical validation studies are under way at the Cleo Roberts Center of Clinical Research in Arizona, US, and the Research Institute of Thessaly in Greece.
The company is also developing a blood test for breast cancer, and Rash recently met with health officials in Greece to plan a clinical validation test for the breast cancer test, in anticipation of its launch in the country. The test, called BC-SeraPro, measures 22 biomarkers specific to breast cancer and compares the results to a database held by the company.
Mammography may not pick up cancer until the woman has had it for years, according to Essam Sheta, director of biochemistry at Power3. ‘Although sensitivity is up to 90% for palpable cancers, which are detectable by touch, the sensitivity is more like 40% for asymptomatic cancers,’ according to Rash. By contrast, BC-SeraPro can boast a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 87%. The global mammogram market is about $10bn, according to the World Health Organisation.
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