30 May 2001

Scientists at the University of Dundee are developing a test that can for the first time diagnose Alzheimer's disease in living patients.

Led by Dr Kieran Breen of the University's department of pharmacology, the team is using a marker protein to gauge how healthy the brain cells are in sufferers of the disease. The non-invasive test is simple to administer and does not require taking blood or cerebrospinal fluid - a considerable advantage to patients and clinicians.

Alzheimer's disease affects 12 million people world-wide - a figure which is expected almost to double over the next 25 years. A neurodegenerative disease, it involves the death of brain cells with accompanying loss of thinking power and ability. At present it is still not possible to diagnose Alzheimer's with certainty until after death but by detecting the level of a specific marker protein the Dundee test has the potential to help the diagnosis of Alzheimer's, track its progression and improve the monitoring of treatment.

Details of the test are still under wraps as a patent is currently being sought.

Dr Kieran Breen: "We have done some preliminary tests with a small number of people with Alzheimer's disease and the initial results are promising although there's an awful lot of work to be done."

The protein is indicative of cell well-being and as the disease progresses, the protein decreases. The lower the level of protein the further advanced the disease is. The changes can be seen just after the clinical symptoms have started to appear.

Dr Breen: "There is a class of drugs available at the moment which helps to alleviate some of the symptoms in the early stages. Not everyone reacts; it depends how far it has progressed. What happens is someone is put on the drug and left for a month or two and then it's found out they weren't suitable. We hope the test can tell us whether they are suitable. If somebody presents at a memory clinic with very early stages of Alzheimer's hopefully we can use it to decide whether to put them on the drug."

Eight companies have expressed interest in the research which was funded by the University and Scottish Enterprise Tayside. Large scale clinical trials are expected to be the next stage.

See http://www.dundee.ac.uk/research/AD.doc
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/alzheimer/

Contact Dr Kieran Breen 01382 660111