When
we reported on Mississauga's
Amorfix Life Sciences and their quest to cure cancer, ALS and Alzheimer's in July 2010, the company had just made a financing breakthrough that would allow them to more aggressively pursue their research. Early this year, the company saw a
breakthrough in their research [PDF] into diagnosing Alzheimer's that has the potential to change the industry.
The diagnostic test is able to show the presence of protein fragments that could allow easier diagnosis of the disease. Currently conclusive diagnosis is only available after death through examination of brain tissue. Amorfix's new test uses spinal fluid, and eventually President and CEO Robert Gundel says they would like to be able to conduct the test using blood samples.
"Our hope is to one day be able to use this test on patients showing early signs of dementia in order to predict which patients may progress rapidly into the disease and which may not," Gundel says. He says that initially the test will be applied to clinical research groups, since the current method of diagnosis by checking symptoms creates a very high rate of false diagnoses (as much as 30% or more). The findings of the test could also help advance the research of those creating treatments for the disease.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Dr. Robert Gundal, President and CEO, Amorfix Life Sciences