ALS Diagnosis Simplified: New Blood Test Shows 98% Accuracy

Listen to this News

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Paralysis caused by ALS eventually leaves a person unable to move, speak, walk, or even stand.

A thorough clinical evaluation has to be done to diagnose ALS. Nevertheless, it might take up to 12 months to obtain a conclusive diagnosis, by which many patients have worsened their condition.

‘New ALS test utilizes eight microRNA sequences for accurate diagnosis. #ALS #neurodegenerative_disease #microRNA #medindia’

The amount of misdiagnosis varies greatly up to 68% of cases, making it even more difficult to get an effective treatment. To overcome this, a very reliable and accurate diagnostic blood test has been developed for ALS ().

New Blood Test for ALS Shows 98% Accuracy

Researchers from the not-for-profit Brain Chemistry Labs in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, published the study today in the journal Brain Communications produced by Oxford University Press.

The diagnostic test requires only a simple blood draw and is based on small sequences of nucleic acids, known as microRNA, extracted from tiny vesicles released by the brain and nervous system.

Analysis of microRNA sequences from hundreds of patient samples allowed researchers to develop a unique "ALS fingerprint" comprising eight distinct microRNA sequences. These sequences can sensitively and specifically distinguish blood samples of ALS patients from healthy controls and from patients with conditions that mimic ALS in its early stages, with an overall accuracy of up to 98%. Scientists hope the test will become a tool to help neurologists make more rapid diagnoses.

ALS Test to Be Available in 18 Months

"Rapid diagnosis will allow treatment to begin earlier leading to better outcomes for ALS patients," remarked Brain Chemistry Labs scientist Dr. Sandra Banack, senior author of the paper.

This new test follows on the heels of three prior validation studies using different patient cohorts for a total sample size of 471, with many of the samples provided by the USA National ALS Biorepository.

Dr. Paul Alan Cox, Executive Director of the Brain Chemistry Labs, hopes to make this test widely available within 18 to 24 months to neurologists by securing a diagnostic company partnership.

Reference:

1. A microRNA diagnostic biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - (https:academic.oup.com/braincomms/article/6/5/fcae268/7754324?login=false)

Source: Eurekalert