Satoris enters collaboration to validate early Alzheimer's test

Satoris, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company focused on developing blood-based tests for Alzheimer's disease, will shortly begin a collaborative study with the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (Mayo Clinic) to validate the utility of plasma biomarkers for early detection of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

These biomarkers may also predict the progression of patients from a state of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's.

Satoris researchers first reported the utility of Alzheimer's – related biomarkers in the November, 2007 edition of the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Nature Medicine. In the reported study, researchers analyzed 259 stored blood samples, comparing those from individuals with presymptomatic to late-stage Alzheimer's disease with those from individuals without the disease. Using a technique known as signal profiling, they were able to simultaneously measure the relative abundance of 120 known proteins found in plasma that function as chemical messengers between blood cells, brain cells, and cells of the immune system.

Statistical analyses of the two groups of blood samples showed that in the Alzheimer's samples there were 18 proteins with distinctly different concentrations from those in normal individuals. The different protein pattern found in the Alzheimer's samples was statistically significant, with nearly 90 percent accuracy in diagnosing and characterizing the disease.

“We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with Mayo Clinic researchers in confirming the performance and utility of our blood test for Alzheimer's,” said Cris McReynolds, President & CEO of Satoris. “Continued validation, we believe, will lead to commercial release of this test, initially for research use in late summer 2008, and ultimately for clinical use, following the necessary regulatory approvals.”

There is no cure for Alzheimer's, a degenerative brain disease that affects an estimated 3.1 million people in the U.S. and 26 million worldwide. Experts predict the toll may more than quadruple by 2050 as the population grays. Since its destructive effects may exist years before symptoms are apparent, substantial damage can occur prior to diagnosis. Alzheimer's diagnosis is currently costly and is largely dependent on the expertise of the physician. As a result, it is estimated that only 60 percent of cases are diagnosed, leaving over 1.5 million patients undiagnosed. Scientists hope that early diagnosis may ultimately lead to more effective therapies to slow the disease's progression or to manage existing symptoms.

Founded in 2003 and based in Redwood City, California, Satoris, Inc. is a molecular diagnostics company focused on developing blood-based tests for Alzheimer's disease.