Innovative blood platelets biomarker for early diagnosis of alzheimer's disease
AssigneeServicios Cientificos Neuroinnovation Limitada
InventorsRicardo B. Maccioni, Gonzalo Farias
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a method for early, non-invasive, rapid, efficient, reliable and accurate diagnose of Alzheimer's disease. The present invention particularly addresses obtaining blood samples, and stabilizing platelets from healthy persons and patients with probable cognitive impairment and/or Alzheimer's disease; extracting proteins from the platelets; identifying both monomeric and oligomeric tau proteins in the platelets with at least two monoclonal antibodies against the tau proteins, quantifying the amounts of the identified tau proteins, and comparing the amounts and protein profiles of the tau molecular species in the platelets of the healthy person and the patient.
Claims8
A method for determining an increased likelihood of Alzheimer disease in a patient, said method comprising the steps of:
- a. characterizing Tau proteins in a reference population of persons not suffering from Alzheimer disease;
- b. obtaining and stabilizing platelets from a patient;
- c. extracting Tau proteins from said platelets;
- d. identifying Tau proteins in said platelets by generating antigens using at least two monoclonal antibodies against the Tau proteins, wherein at least one of said antibodies is directed to hyperphosphorylated variants of Tau proteins;
- e. quantifying the amounts of the identified Tau proteins, and
- f. comparing the relative amounts of high and low molecular weight Tau proteins in the platelets of said patient to that of said reference population;
- wherein a comparative difference in the amounts of high and low molecular weight Tau proteins is indicative of an increased likelihood of Alzheimer disease in said patient.
(canceled)
A kit for characterizing Tau proteins in blood so as to determine an increased likelihood of Alzheimer disease in a patient said kit comprising:
- a) chemicals for preparation of samples of platelets;
- b) chemicals for running electrophoresis;
- c) chemicals for performing immune blotting, including at least two monoclonal antibodies against Tau proteins, wherein at least one of said antibodies is directed to hyperphosphorylated variants of Tau proteins;
- and
- d) means for quantifying the amounts of the identified Tau proteins and for comparing the relative amounts of high and low molecular weight Tau proteins in the platelets of said patient to that of a reference population of persons not suffering from Alzheimer disease.
A method for determining a likelihood of Alzheimer's disease in a patient, said method comprising the steps of:
- obtaining and stabilizing platelets from a patient;
- extracting Tau proteins from said platelets;
- identifying Tau proteins in said platelets by generating antigens using at least two monoclonal antibodies against the Tau proteins, wherein at least one of said antibodies is directed to hyperphosphorylated variants of Tau proteins;
- quantifying the amounts of the identified Tau proteins, and
- comparing the relative amounts of high and low molecular weight Tau proteins in the platelets of said patient;
- wherein a comparative difference in the amounts of high and low molecular weight Tau proteins is indicative of an increased likelihood of Alzheimer's disease in said patient.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.