阿尔茨海默血液检测“希望”
Alzheimer's blood test 'promise'A US company is hoping to be the first to market a blood test which can detect early signs of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
Several teams are working on such a test but Power3 Medical Products says its could be launched in Europe this summer, Chemistry and Industry reports.
The diseases can currently only be diagnosed once symptoms develop.
UK experts said the test sounded promising for detecting and monitoring the diseases but more work was needed.
The company plans to launch the test in Greece first, before promoting it in the US by the end of the year.
It hopes the test could be launched in the UK early next year, if authorities are satisfied with trial results.
Monitoring aid
The test, called NuroPro, measures levels of 59 biomarkers - proteins in the blood.
The relative levels of the markers is used to distinguish between Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and another neurodegenerative disease called Lou Gehrig's disease.
So far, more than 180 patients have been tested, with the company claiming between 60% and 70% success in identifying those with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or Lou Gehrig's.
Clinical trials are under way in the US and Greece.
Steve Rash, chief executive officer of the company, said: \"There is currently no diagnostic test for any neurodegenerative disease on the market - diagnoses are currently based solely on a clinical diagnosis of symptoms.\"
Kieran Breen, director of research at the Parkinson's Disease Society, speaking at the start of Parkinson's Awareness Week, said it was currently difficult to diagnose the condition.
But he added: \"Whilst the NuroPro test sounds promising, a larger study would need to be carried out before it can be confirmed as being helpful in making the diagnosis of Parkinson's.
\"A blood test could also be particularly useful in monitoring the progression of Parkinson's and assessing agents or drugs that modify the rate of disease development.\"
The society is using the awareness week to highlight the need for people with Parkinson's to receive better specialist nursing care.
A survey of 13,000 people with the disease last year found 40% had not spoken to a specialist nurse in the previous year.
Too complex?
Susan Sorensen, head of research at the UK Alzheimer's Society, said:
\"An effective blood test would present those diagnosed and their families with an opportunity to prepare for the impact of this devastating illness and make crucial decisions about their future.
But she said: \"Opinion remains split on the potential effectiveness of a blood test, with some suggesting Alzheimer's is too complex to identify in this way.
Dr Sorensen said the test would also need to be usable on a large scale.
一家美国公司正期望成为首家使血液检测上市的公司，该检测法可以监测帕金森和阿尔茨海默早期体征。
《化学和工业》报道一些小组正在从事这样的检测，但是力量3
医学产品说它今年夏天在欧洲是首创。这些疾病目前仅仅能在症状发展时被诊断出。英国专家说该方法对于监测和检测这些疾病是非常有前途的，但还需要对其进行更多的探索。公司计划年末在美国促销前先在希腊开展此检测，希望明年初该检测法可以在英国开展，如果当局满意它的实验结果的话。
监测辅助
此检测法叫NuroPro，可以检测血液中59个生物标记蛋白水平
标记的相对水平被用于区别阿尔茨海默、帕金森和另一些叫做Lou Gehrig病的神经退行性疾病。到目前为之已经检测了超过180名患者，公司声称识别阿尔茨海默、帕金森和Lou Gehrig病的成功率在60%~70%。
临床实验正在美国和希腊进行
公司执行总裁Steve Rash说：“目前市场上还没有诊断神经退行性变疾病的方法——目前的诊断单单基于临床症状的诊断。”帕金森疾病学会的研究主任Kieran Breen在帕金森觉醒周开始时发言说目前很难诊断疾病的情况。 但是他补充说：“NuroPro检测法似乎很有前途，但是它在被认可为有助于诊断帕金森前还需要进行一项更大型的研究。血液检测在监测帕金森进展和评估疾病发展等级的试剂或药物方面是十分有用的。”该学会正在利用觉醒周来强调帕金森患者接受更好的专家护理的必要性。去年一项包含13000位患者的调查发现40%的患者在过去的几年中没有和专家沟通交流。
太复杂？
英国阿尔茨海默学会研究领导Susan Sorensen说：“一项有效的
血液检测可以使那些已经确诊的患者和他们的家庭为这个破坏
性的疾病做准备，也为他们的未来做出关键的规划。”但是她说：“观点在血液检测的有效性方面存在分歧，一些人认为阿尔茨海默太复杂用这种方法是检测不了的。”Dr Sorensen说检测的方法也需要便于大规模应用。
阿尔茨海默氏症，破坏记忆力，并最终导致死亡，已成为研究焦点多年，但它非常顽固，到目前为止，还没有十分有效的治疗方法。
20世纪90年代以来批准的药物，包括辉瑞公司和卫材公司的市场领先地位的Aricept，只提供适度的症状改善。
Elan和惠氏的新药物可能是第一个针对疾病的药物，使它成为一个潜在的数十亿美元的产品-如果真的有用的话。
根据世界卫生组织估计，全球有大约1800万阿尔茨海默氏病患者，由于人口老龄化，这一数字预计到2025年将达到3400万人。
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