Identifying early markers of Alzheimer's disease using quantitative multiplex proteomic immunoassay panels.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder with incidence expected to increase four-fold over the next decade. Extensive research efforts are focused upon identifying new treatments, and early diagnosis is considered key to successful intervention. Although imaging and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers have shown promise in identifying patients in very early stages of the disease, more noninvasive cost-effective tools have remained elusive. Recent studies have reported that an 18-analyte multiplexed plasma panel can differentiate AD from controls suggesting plasma-based screening tools for early AD diagnosis exists. The current study tested the reproducibility of a subset of the original 18-analyte panel using a bead-based multiplex technology. Preliminary results suggest diagnostic accuracy using the subset was 61%. Multivariate analysis of an 89-analyte multivariate panel yielded a diagnostic accuracy of 70% suggesting a plasma-based AD signature that may be a useful screening tool.