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Novel Compounds for the Antemortem Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease

Detailed Technology Description

None

*Abstract

BackgroundAlzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative illness characterized by memory loss and other cognitive deficits. It is the most common cause of dementia in the United States. AD can strike persons as young as 40-50 years of age, yet, the time of onset is unknown due the difficulty in determining its presence without dangerous brain biopsy. The prevalence of AD increases with age, with estimates of the affected population reaching as high as 40-50% by ages 85-90. AD is definitively diagnosed through examination of brain tissue, usually at autopsy. Neuropathologically, this disease is characterized by the presence of neuritic plaques (NP), neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), and neuronal loss, along with a variety of other findings. Post-mortem slices of brain tissue of victims of Alzheimer's disease exhibit the presence of amyloid in the form of proteinaceous extracellular cores of the neuritic plaques that are characteristic of AD. TechnologyThe investigators have discovered amyloid binding compounds which are derivatives of Chrysamine G. This technology includes pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds, and methods using these compounds to identify Alzheimer's brain in vivo and to diagnose other pathological conditions characterized by amyloidosis, such as Down's Syndrome. Pharmaceutical compositions containing Chrysamine G and derivatives thereof and methods using such compositions to prevent cell degeneration and amyloid-induced toxicity in amyloidosis associated conditions are also described. Methods using Chrysamine G derivatives to stain or detect amyloid deposits in biopsy or post-mortem tissue are also described. Methods using Chrysamine G derivatives to quantify amyloid deposits in homogenates of biopsy and post-mortem tissue are also described. Application* Diagnosis of Alzheimer's DiseaseAdvantages* Compound can be used in the antemortem diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease as opposed to the current method of biopsy and post-mortem tissue analysis

*Principal Investigator

Name: William Klunk, Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Department: Med-Psychiatry

Name: Chester Mathis, Associate Professor of Radiology

Department: Med-Radiology

Name: Jay Pettegrew, Professor of Psychiatry,Neurology, HS

Department: Med-Psychiatry

Country/Region

USA