[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

Disclosures: N.C. Berchtold , None; C.W. Cotman, None; P. Coleman, None; J. Rogers,
None.
Poster
246. Alzheimer's Imaging and Biomarkers II
Time: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Program#/Poster#: 246.17/R5
Topic: C.01.o. Imaging and biomarkers
Support: commercial
Title: Development of novel biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease based on tau oligomers
Authors: *E. J. DAVIDOWITZ 1 , S. VASAN 3 , J. G. MOE 2 ;
1 OLIGOMERIX, Inc., 2 OLIGOMERIX, Inc., New York, NY; 3 Consultant, New York, NY
Abstract: There is a critical unmet need for novel biomarkers for differential diagnosis of
Alzheimer‟s disease (AD) at early onset and to stage disease progression. Presently, definitive
diagnosis of AD requires tissue biopsy or autopsy of the brain, which can occur only after the
patient dies. There are no validated biomarkers identified in patient samples such as
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood, and urine that can be used to definitely monitor the progression
or regression of AD. Most approaches focus on quantitative changes of individual proteins such
as tau and Aβ in patient samples as biomarkers. These studies have led to a consensus that an
increase in total and p-tau and a concomitant decrease in Aβ1-42 in CSF may be indicative of
neurodegeneration. However, these changes may not be specific indicators of AD and may also
occur in some other forms of dementia. The development of novel biomarkers based on the
paradigm of protein-protein interactions, rather than on specific protein levels, may create
opportunity for earlier and more specific diagnosis and disease monitoring for better patient
management. Using the approach of measuring pathological interactions between proteins may
provide urgently needed novel AD biomarkers. These biomarkers can also serve as drug targets
for the identification of new therapeutic entities to treat AD and to monitor different therapeutic
effects when used to treat AD. Here, data is presented demonstrating that tau oligomers in CSF
have potential as a biomarker for AD. Novel results from an ELISA formatted to detect these
complexes indicate that they are present in CSF and that they are elevated in AD samples
compared to non-AD samples. The choice of capture antibody for tau was critical for
identification of tau oligomers that correlated with disease. Although the sample size is small in
these pilot experiments, these preliminary results support the notion of developing tau oligomers
as biomarkers for AD.