Description

Current Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnostic tools which utilize biological markers have low rates of success or involve invasive techniques that are at best uncomfortable and unreliable. Other tools incorporate bulky and expensive machinery. Moreover, many of the latter tests rely on the detection of proteins which are synthesized after the body has already suffered irreversible damage.

In recent years, it has been reported that defects in cytochrome oxidase may be involved in AD; and specifically, AD patients have reduced cytochrome oxidase activity. Therefore, one can measure the cytochrome oxidase activity of a tissue sample and produce an accurate diagnosis. Furthermore, this method is effective with peripheral tissue biopsies, thus reducing the discomfort related to inferior diagnostic tools.

Benefits

• Prompt output
  
• Allows monitoring of pathogenesis
  
• Assess therapy performance
  
• Increased patient compliance
  
• Opportunity for intervention therapy
  

Features

• Minimally invasive
  
• Point-of-care diagnosis
  
• Cytochemical evaluation
  

Market Potential/Applications

Alzheimer’s disease costs American business more than $60 billion a year, and the cost is expected to rise significantly because of a predicted double in the number of afflictions in the next twenty years. The aforementioned system has the potential of reducing the cost by providing a quick diagnosis.

IP Status

U.S. Patent issued: 6,183,981
PCT Application filed

For further information please contact:

University of Texas,
Austin, USA
Website : www.otc.utexas.edu