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[{"type":"text","content":"\n RNS Number : 2286P Proteome Sciences PLC 13 July 2010 \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \nProteome Sciences plc\n \nProteome Sciences develops two novel proteomic biomarker assays \nfor Alzheimer's disease\n \n \n13 July 2010, London, UK - Proteome Sciences, a leading developer of biomarkers in diagnostics and drug development, is pleased to announce presentations of two novel, multiplex biomarker assays developed by Proteome Sciences in collaboration with researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London using novel proteomic discovery techniques to identify biomarkers and potential new therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's (AD). New generation diagnostic tests using protein biomarkers in AD and lung cancer have recently been attracting considerable media attention, resulting in the publication of a number of leading articles in the UK press.\n \nThe assays are being presented at the 2010 International Conference on Alzheimer's disease (ICAD) being held this week in Honolulu, Hawaii.\n \nThe first presentation describes a mass spectrometer assay for the absolute quantitation of nine blood proteins shown to have utility in the early diagnosis, prediction of disease progression and response to treatment. The proteins include known risk factors for AD such as ApoE and clusterin as well as newly discovered markers such as gelsolin, alpha-2-macroglobulin and complement factor H. The levels of clusterin in blood have recently been shown to be associated with rate of AD progression and to correlate with the diagnostic changes seen with sophisticated imaging equipment. Proteome Sciences has developed a mass spectrometry assay for clusterin available through PS Biomarker Services. The current format of the test uses a tiny amount of blood and takes around 24 hours.\n \nIn the second presentation a new method for the routine determination of levels of phosphorylation on a protein called tau is described. Tau is a major component of the characteristic tangles seen in the brains of patients with AD and is thought to contribute to the death of brain cells in a number of neurodegenerative diseases as a result of hyperphosphorylation. The method can measure subtle changes in the levels of phosphorylation in tau and will initially be used to evaluate the potential of new treatment...