Developing a skin test for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and for monitoring effectiveness of treatment

大约有14万澳大利亚人患有阿尔茨海默病(AD)。随着老龄化人口的持续增长，除非找到治疗或预防的方法，否则到下个世纪中叶，这一数字将翻一番。科学家们正在不断寻求新的、更有效的诊断测试，以努力使其更容易在AD的早期阶段诊断。能够及早识别症状并获得准确诊断，将使受影响的个人更有机会从假定的治疗中受益。然而，没有单一的、全面的AD诊断测试。需要有助于在早期阶段可靠诊断AD的诊断测试(包括外周标志物)，以及有助于监测AD进展的测试，包括对治疗的反应。以前提出的外周标记物(血小板和瞳孔扩张试验)的准确性和临床实用性是值得怀疑的。确认AD诊断的唯一方法是通过尸检。我们已经获得了使用皮肤试验进行AD早期诊断的临时专利申请(专利号：PQ2881-99)。这项测试是基于我们在过去十年中进行的广泛研究，以了解β淀粉样蛋白对血管的毒性作用的生化机制。这种蛋白与阿尔茨海默病的病理有关，它积聚在大脑和周围组织中，并存在于AD患者的循环血液中。这项测试是基于我们的发现，即可以在外周微循环中检测到抗体的血管效应。现在，我们希望进一步检验这一新的皮肤测试的实用性。如果检测是敏感的，它可以用于筛查；如果检测是特异的，它将有助于确认疑似AD。如果这项测试对临床状态的变化敏感，它将有助于选择可能治愈或改善AD症状的治疗方法。

Approximately 140,000 Australians suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD). As the ageing population continues to grow, this number will double by the middle of the next century unless a cure or prevention is found. Scientists are continuously seeking new, more effective diagnostic tests in an effort to make it easier to diagnose AD in its early stages. Being able to recognize symptoms early and obtain an accurate diagnosis would give affected individuals a greater chance of benefiting from putative treatments. However, there is no single, comprehensive diagnostic test for AD. Diagnostic tests (including peripheral markers) that can help to reliably diagnose AD at an early stage are needed as are tests that can help in monitoring the progression of AD, including response to therapy. The accuracy and clinical utility of previously proposed peripheral markers (platelets and pupil dilation test) is questionable. The only way to confirm a diagnosis of AD is through autopsy. We have obtained a provisional patent application for the use of a skin test for early diagnosis of AD (Patent No: PQ2881-99). This test is based on our extensive research over the past decade to understand the biochemical mechanisms underlying the txic vascular actions of beta amyloid protein. This protein has been implicated in the pathology of AD and it accumulates in the brain, peripheral tissues and is present in circulating blood of AD patients. The test is based on our discovery that vascular effects of Ab could be detected in the peripheral microcirculation .We now wish to further examine the utility of this novel skin test. If the test is sensitive, it could be used for screening; if it is specific it would be useful for confirmation of suspected AD. If the test is sensitive to change in clinical status it would help select treatments that might cure or improve the symptoms of AD.