Surrogate Biomarkers for Amyloid and Neuroinflammation

Case 2017-211 

UCLA researchers in the Department of Neurology and Medicine have developed a novel approach is to detect and measure neuroinflammation.

BACKGROUND

Persistent brain inflammation (neuroinflammation) contributes to Alzheimer disease (AD) and many forms of brain injury. The current methods of trying to detect and measure neuroinflammation are expensive and invasive tests. Besides, a general screen for neuroinflammation is needed to capture the presence of neurodegenerative diseases at presymptomatic stages.

INNOVATION

The inventors have developed a novel approach to detect and measure neuroinflammation by extracting total plasma extracellular vesicles (PEVs) and an assay for both glial and neural specific markers that respond to neuroinflammation in AD. This method enriches EV biomarkers but avoids the quantitative losses and variable yields associated with neural and glial exosome capture and purification that result in complex normalization issues. For amyloid, they use the broader astrocytic and neural response to amyloid to distinguish the response to beta amyloid from a general response to other types of injury.

APPLICATIONS

• Detect and measure neuroinflammation
• Screen for pre-symptomatic neurodegenerative disease
• Early diagnosis and monitoring of the progressive neurodegenerative response

ADVANTAGES

• Highly selective and sensitive
• Early capture
• Avoids the quantitative losses and variable yields with traditional methods