Brain Disease: Page 2

Blood test helps gauge patients' CSVD risk

The research could help develop a "novel diagnostic test that clinicians can start to use as a quantitative measure of brain health in people who are at risk of developing cerebral small vessel disease," lead author Dr. Jason Hinman said in a statement released by the university.

February 4, 2020

Inflammatory marker sCD14 lurks in dementia

Earlier detection of dementia using convenient blood tests is an important goal for Alzheimer's disease and other dementia disorders so that patients can be identified in time to be included in clinical trials and hopefully treated successfully. Inflammation and infection have become intriguing areas of research in Alzheimer's disease.

December 10, 2019

DiamiR gets $492K grant to study Alzheimer's biomarkers

The funding will be used to study microRNA blood-based biomarkers across the spectrum of Alzheimer's disease, with the goal of providing early diagnosis and new treatments. The company said it will focus on changes in the plasma levels of microRNAs enriched in brain regions affected by the disease. MicroRNAs are able to cross the blood-brain barrier.

November 20, 2019

Gene panel finds root of neuroinflammatory symptoms in kids

Neuroinflammatory conditions -- severe disorders in the brain and spine -- are increasingly common in pediatric patients and may manifest as seizures, encephalopathy, focal motor deficits, and other symptoms. But the causes are diverse, which presents a challenge for identification and could lead to delays in diagnosis. A monogenic disease may be at the root of the problem, but the high expense of genetic testing puts it out of reach for routine use in the clinic.

October 30, 2019

NIH test inspects abnormal tau in cerebrospinal fluid

Abnormalities in the protein tau are at the root of more than 25 neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, and better means of testing are needed, other than the analysis of postmortem brain tissue, the researchers noted.

October 16, 2019

MRI, blood test uncover signs of mild TBI in athletes

For the pilot study, researchers from the U.S., Israel, and Ireland explored the effect that rugby and mixed martial arts had on the blood-brain barrier of the athletes, as well as the implications of damage to the barrier regarding future neurological diseases (J Neurotrauma, September 5, 2019).

September 29, 2019

Blood test detects Alzheimer's with great accuracy

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a blood test that measures beta amyloid. The test is not yet ready for clinical use, but the study findings show that using a blood test to detect brain changes of early Alzheimer's disease is moving closer to becoming a reality.

August 4, 2019

AAIC update: Where blood-based dementia tests stand in 2019

Among three studies of blood tests flagged by meeting organizers was a report from Dr. Akinori Nakamura, PhD, of the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology in Obu, Japan, and colleagues that biomarker composite derived from ratios of plasma levels of amyloid-related peptides -- amyloid-β precursor protein (APP)669-711/amyloid-β (Aβ)1-42 and Aβ1-40/Aβ1-42 -- and tested with mass spectrometry were significantly correlated with results for beta amyloid as measured with PET scans. The study included 201 samples from patients seen in three Japanese centers, including patients with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and non-Alzheimer's dementia.

July 15, 2019

Inflammatory biomarker blood tests play the field in concussion

In the prospective study, 857 male high school and college-aged players underwent blood testing at baseline for a variety of inflammatory biomarkers. IL-6 and IL-1RA were significantly elevated in a cohort of 41 players with concussion six hours after the injury, compared with preinjury and postinjury levels, and also compared with matched controls, according to senior author Timothy Meier, PhD, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and colleagues.

July 3, 2019

Quanterix boosts NfL assays with UmanDiagnostics acquisition

In a statement about the deal, Quanterix said the acquisition secures the supply of highly specific NfL antibodies for use in its Simoa NfL assays and services and should accelerate the availability of diagnostics.

June 26, 2019

GenomeSmart launches genetic testing platform

Developed with input by genetic counselors, the product -- GenomeBrain -- takes into account an individual's age, medical history, and ethnicity in making recommendations. The platform runs through millions of combinations and produces a personalized report for an individual patient in 10 minutes, which can help testing labs speed up their pretesting workflow and ensure eligibility for insurance reimbursement. Recommendations for genetic testing from guidelines are regularly updated.

May 20, 2019

NIH study outlines pathology of newly defined dementia disorder

Called limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE), the condition is characterized by misfolded TDP-43, a protein involved in the regulation of gene expression in the brain, and is associated with a decline in cognitive function.

April 29, 2019

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