Blood Test Predicts Amount of Amyloid Plaque in Mice

A study has shown that a blood test can predict the amount of amyloid-b (Ab) plaque in the brains of mice. If the test will also work with humans, researchers say it could help diagnose Alzheimer's disease. The study was reported in the March 22, 2002, issue of Science.

The test was developed by a team of researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, MO, USA; www.wustl.edu) and Eli Lilly and Co. (Indianapolis, IN, USA). The team examined 49 mice with a mutation in the gene for the amyloid precursor protein (APP), similar to the genetic abnormality found in some families with a strong history of Alzheimer's disease. All the mice developed plaques within a year, in varying degrees. The researchers took advantage of these differences to investigate potential factors that might predict the extent of plaque formation. They discovered that an antibody called m266 draws Ab out of the brain and into the surrounding blood, where its levels were found to correlate with the amount of brain amyloid.

"We don't know if this finding in mice will apply to humans,” said Dr. David M. Holtzmann, associate professor of neurology at Washington University. "If it does, it has the potential to provide a noninvasive means of detecting Alzheimer's pathology even before clinical symptoms appear.”




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