A Medical Device Daily

Power3 Medical Products (PMP; Houston) reported the filing of a U.S. patent application for the diagnosis of multiple forms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by monitoring a panel of protein biomarkers in human blood serum.

This latest filing further extends the reach of the recently filed U.S. Utility Patent Application that identified 47 protein biomarkers useful in the early diagnosis of AD.

Because early signs of AD are often hard to distinguish from normal signs of aging, most patients are not diagnosed until neuronal damage is extensive. A diagnostic test that will allow physicians to diagnose AD patients earlier and with greater accuracy would enable those patients to begin drug treatment when it could be most effective, Power 3 said.

More than 18 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's disease, a figure projected to nearly double to 34 million by 2025.

This new application discloses how a select group of the protein biomarkers of neurodegenerative disease in the blood may be employed to distinguish between patients with different forms of AD. These biomarkers may also enhance the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis, to monitor disease severity, progression, and response to treatment as well as detect and monitor disease processes and mechanisms.