Novel blood test for Alzheimer's diagnosis
Today, Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed too late. In collaboration with a research team at the university and German Center for Neurogenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Göttingen, Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have developed a blood test that may potentially facilitate detection of Alzheimer's at an early stage. It is based on an immuno-chemical analysis using an infrared sensor. The sensor's surface is coated with highly specific antibodies which extract biomarkers for Alzheimer's from the blood or the cerebrospinal fluid, taken from the lower part of the back (lumbar liquor). The infrared sensor analyses if the biomarkers show already pathological changes, which can take place more than 15 years before any clinical symptoms appear.