NeuroQuest Development Center is working with the University of California-San Diego to collect and process blood samples for clinical validation trials of NeuroQuest’s blood test for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Designed to be an inexpensive, convenient alternative to costly positron emission tomography (PET) brain scans, the NeuroQuest blood test can potentially identify a pre-clinical stage of AD years before the onset of noticeable symptoms.

The blood test is based on the principles of protective autoimmunity and nearly 20 years of award-winning research led by Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and president of the International Society of Neuroimmunology.

Worldwide, nearly 44 million people have Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Yet there is no objective, accurate, cost-effective and practical tool for early diagnosis.

Human trials in Israel showed NeuroQuest’s blood test to be 87 percent accurate with an 85% specificity rate in detecting Alzheimer’s and ALS, two common neurodegenerative diseases. With blood tests, anything over 70% is considered medically significant.

In addition, recent pilot testing of NeuroQuest’s biomarker technology in Australia surpassed current standards of specificity and sensitivity set by the US Alzheimer’s Association.

“Based on our pilot test results, we are cautiously optimistic about our upcoming US clinical trials,” said Dan Touitou, CEO of NeuroQuest. The national clinical trial for older individuals who may be at risk for AD is funded by the National Institute on Aging, Eli Lilly and Company, and several philanthropic organizations.

Validation studies for NeuroQuest’s diagnostic blood test will continue in Australia and the United States through 2017.