Assessing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease
World Alzheimer’s Month
World Alzheimer’s Month is a global campaign to raise awareness and highlight the challenge that surrounds the disease, hosted by the Alzheimer’s disease International (ADI) every September. During this month World Alzheimer’s Day also takes place, 21 September each year.
47 million people are living with Alzheimer’s worldwide, costing 604 billion USD per year. This number is expected to rise to 76 million people with the disease by 2030.1 The FDA have not approved a medication for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease since 2003. More than 400 clinical trials are currently looking at new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and many of them are actively recruiting. Many still regard the amyloid hypothesis as a key explanation for Alzheimers disease development and progression.2
Alzheimer’s risk
Alzheimer’s disease is not necessarily inherited as a single-gene mutation as the inheritance pattern is incredibly complex. Unlike familial Alzheimer’s disease, a multi-gene form usually affects those aged 65 and older. The gene with the greatest known effect on the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease is called apolipoprotein E (APOE). It is found on chromosome 19 and the APOE protein plays a role in handling fats in the body, including cholesterol. 3
ApoE plays a key role in lipid metabolism and the scientific and medical community recognise it as one of the most powerful genetic risk factors for dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. It has become one of the most widely studied gene variants in Alzheimer’s disease and constitutes a major consideration for preventive medicine.
ApoE exists in three common isoforms (ApoE2, ApoE3 and ApoE4) which are coded by three co-dominant alleles (e2, e3, e4). As such, six common ApoE phenotypes exist within the general population: E2/E2, E3/E3, E4/E4 (homozygous) and E2/E3, E2/E4, E3/E4 (heterozygous). Medical professionals recognise the presence of the ApoE4 isoform as a major genetic risk factor for development of Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, the availability of analytical methods for rapid and reliable ApoE4 classification is advantageous.
Evidence Investigator
The Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) Array is a research use only product developed for the Evidence Investigator. The ApoE4 Array measures both total ApoE protein levels and ApoE4 protein levels directly from plasma samples and using a ratio can classify patients as negative or positive for ApoE4. In turn we can then assess their risk for the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
2-plex Biochip Array
- Pan ApoE
- ApoE4
An individual’s ApoE status has been shown to affect pre-symptomatic risk, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment response for a variety of diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s disease. The ApoE4 Array can rapidly and accurately detect an individual’s ApoE4 status directly from a plasma sample. In combination with medical and family history, medication and lifestyle, this can deliver valuable information for personalised medicine approaches.
The 2-plex diagnostic Alzheimer’s test has the utility to detect the likelihood of a person’s chance of developing the disease to assist in the research and development of a potential drug to combat or slow down the process of Alzheimer’s.
1 https://www.alz.org/global/overview.asp
2 https://www.brightfocus.org/alzheimers/article/clinical-trials-alzheimers-disease-whats-new
For further information about the Randox Alzheimer’s Array, please email info@randoxbiosciences.com