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CIRCLE 33 ON READER SERVICE CARD 1204 A • ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 59, NO. 20, OCTOBER 15, 1987
N.J.), and Senetek PLC (Mountain View, Calif.) has produced an immunoassay for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The method detects a crossreacting antigen to a monoclonal antibody that was developed from protein tangles extracted from the brain tissue of confirmed Alzheimer's patients. According to John Bennett, president of Senetek, and Howard Rubinstein, president of Immuno-Products, two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods have been developed: a competitive assay and a sandwich assay. Preliminary results indicate that the tests can distinguish Alzheimer's disease from other neurological disorders with about 75% accuracy, which is comparable to the best diagnostic studies using strict clinical and neuropsychological criteria. If these immunoassays can detect Alzheimer's disease earlier than can clinical methods, physicians can then start appropriate treatment for Alzheimer's disease sooner. No cross-reactivity to drugs has been discovered thus far, and the immunoassay method can detect 1-3 ng/mL of the protein antigen in standards derived from the analysis of brain tissue of confirmed Alzheimer's patients. Clinical trials are now underway, and Senetek hopes to start marketing the test in Europe later this year. Plans are also underway to introduce the test in the United States after FDA regulatory requirements have been met. Although Alzheimer's disease was first described by German neurologist Alois Alzheimer in 1907, it has received significant research interest only in the last 20 years or so. In the last 10 years, research on Alzheimer's has increased dramatically with the discovery of biological markers, proteins specific to Alzheimer's disease-afflicted brain tisue, and a possible genetic link. Because most victims of Alzheimer's are elderly (although it has been known to strike in middle age), the number of victims is sure to increase as the elderly population increases. Researchers expect that at least one of the promising lines of recent work on Alzheimer's disease will produce both a reliable diagnostic test and a means of treating the disease. Mary Warner Suggested reading Wurtman, R. J. Sci. Am. January 1985,6274. Ferry, G. New Scientist, Aug. 22,1986,33-5. Edwards, D. D. Science News, Dec. 14,1985, 374-75. Holman, B. L.; Gibson, R. E.; Hill, T. C; Eckelman, W. C; Albert, M.; Reba, R. C. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 1985,254, 3063-66. Bissette, G; Reynold, G. P.; Kilts, C. D.; Widerlov, E.; Nemeroff, C. B. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 1985,254, 3067-69.
