Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of elderly dementia and affects more than 5 million people in the United States alone. The symptoms can often be missed in early stages but there are currently no tests that can determine an individual’s risk for developing the disease. But thanks to the work of UCLA scientists there may soon be a way to determine that risk by way of a simple blood test.

The researchers discovered an accurate way to measure the amount of amyloid beta that is being absorbed by immune cells in an individual’s blood stream. Amyloid beta causes the formation of the plaques in the brain that are considered the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the UCLA researchers if the immune system is not clearing amyloid beta well it may be an indication of an Alzheimer’s risk.

Now a global life sciences and diagnostics company, MP Biomedicals LLC has gained an exclusive global license to commercialize this new research’s findings with the intention of creating a diagnostic blood test to screen people for an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

“Early diagnosis is the cornerstone of preventive approaches to Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Milan Fiala, lead author of the UCLA study and a researcher at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. “We are pleased that the process we’ve identified using immune cells to help predict Alzheimer’s risk will be further developed by MP Biomedicals.”

In the study, that originally appeared in the May 2009 issue of  the Journal of Neuroimmunology used the “innate” immune system, the one that is present at birth.

Researchers took blood samples and then isolated the monocytes. Monocytes effectively act as the immune systems “janitors”, travelling through the body via the blood stream and absorbing waste products, of which amyloid beta is considered one. Using a method that is commonly used in laboratories called flow cytometry, the scientists measured the amount of amyloid beta that was ingested by the immune cells by measuring how much fluorescence was emitted by individual monocot cells.

There were 18 Alzheimer’s patients taking part in the study and they demonstrated the smallest levels of amyloid beta uptake. The healthy control group consisted of 14 university professors and that group demonstrated the highest uptake of the substance.

Dr Modrag Micic, who is a vice president of Research and Development at MP Biomedicals, noted that the new method could be a flag for further testing and interventions.

“Similar to screening patients for heart disease risk by a cholesterol test, a positive result for Alzheimer’s risk in some patients may suggest further interventions and advanced diagnostics, such as a brain PET scan and neurocognitive testing.”