Biomarker Commons

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have helped identify many of the biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease that could potentially predict which patients will develop the disorder later in life. Now, studying spinal fluid samples and health data from 201 research participants at the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, the researchers have shown the markers are accurate predictors of Alzheimer's years before symptoms develop.

The Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a landmark biomarker clinical study, has completed enrollment of its initial 600-member cohort of Parkinson's patients and controls, and will launch additional study cohorts to leverage the existing PPMI infrastructure and evaluate multiple potential biomarkers for Parkinson's disease (PD). The first of these new cohorts launches today and will investigate risk factors for PD that may enable diagnosis before the onset of motor symptoms.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) recently announced it has acquired two investigational positron emission tomography (PET) tracers from Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. The tracers are intended to image tau (or neurofibrillary) tangles in the brain, one of two known hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Based on studies of samples obtained at autopsy, the amount and location of tau tangles in an Alzheimer's disease patient's brain is thought to correlate with the severity of the disease.

Australian scientists are much closer to developing a screening test for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease. They identified blood-based biological markers that are associated with the build up of a toxic protein in the brain which occurs years before symptoms appear and irreversible brain damage has occurred.

The AgedBrainSYSBIO project on systems biology of synapse proteins & ageing was officially launched recently in Paris, France. AgedBrainSYSBIO is a European collaborative research project funded by the European Commission under the Health Work Programme of the 7th Framework Programme. This multidisciplinary consortium assembles 14 academic and industrial internationally renowned research teams from Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Israel, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

The Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a landmark biomarker clinical study, has completed enrollment of its initial 600-member cohort of Parkinson’s patients and controls, and will launch additional study cohorts to leverage the existing PPMI infrastructure and evaluate multiple potential biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The first of these new cohorts launches today and will investigate risk factors for PD that may enable diagnosis before the onset of motor symptoms.