SCREENING & DIAGNOSIS
Early Diagnosis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases, encompassing Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD), Huntington's Disease (HD), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), etc., areprogressive, fatal, and complex disorders. These diseases are characterized by insidious onset, long disease duration, and a scarcity of effective treatment options. They typicallymanifest distinct symptomatic features in middle-aged and elderly populations, often at anadvanced stage of the disease. Given the irreversible nature of neural damage, current treatment approaches can only minimally slow down the disease progression. Consequently, there is an urgent need for accurate, non-invasive, and affordable early diagnostic andscreening methods.
Accurate early diagnosis and screening can assist potential patients in proactivelymodifying their lifestyles and adhering to medication regimens, thereby reducingtheincidence rate, delaying the onset of the disease, and mitigating its progression, ultimatelyenhancing the quality of life.
Diagnosis of Neurodegenerative Diseases Based on Exosome Technology Platform
Extraction of Biomarkers from Exosomes
Carrier Biomed has established an exclusive partnership with Professor AndrewHill, thePresident of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles, to create an internationallyrecognized quality control system for the extraction of biomarkers contained withinexosomes. By enriching exosomes from the blood of patients with neurodegenerativediseases, including Alzheimer's Disease, and healthy individuals, and throughhigh-throughput sequencing and extensive data analysis, we have identified a series of miRNAs. Their expression profiles have been clinically validated to exhibit significant differences between patients and healthy individuals, making them suitable as biomarkers for clinical testing. Notably, several of these miRNA biomarkers are closely associatedwiththe pathological mechanisms of amyloid protein aggregation.
Clinical Translation
Building on this foundation, Carrier Biomed is currently undertaking a highly significant project focused on the early diagnosis and screening of neurodegenerative diseases. This project involves comparing the biomarker panels derived from exosomes with the goldstandards of clinical imaging and rating scales.
The study has brought together numerous top scientists and clinical experts frombothdomestic and international fields of neurology and exosome research, as well as multipleleading universities, research institutes, and hospitals. To date, we have completed nearly athousand cases of long-term follow-up clinical studies.
Pioneering (or Groundbreaking)
A comprehensive approach integrating a panel of miRNA biomarkers, genotyping, andage-related multi-indicators as composite biomarkers is employed for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Parkinson's Disease (PD). Stable brain-derived miRNAbiomarkers are obtained through serum exosome technology.
Accuracy
In a large-scale cross-sectional and follow-up clinical study involving over 1,000 cases, the sensitivity and specificity of the test results, when compared with clinical gold standards such as Aβ-PET and DAT-PET imaging diagnoses, both exceeded 90%.
Affordability
The price is affordable for the general public, enabling annual screening tests andtheestablishment of personal health records to monitor disease progression.
Exclusivity
The exosome biomarker panel benefits from an exclusively licensed patent for high-efficiency exosome capture technology.
Ease of Operation
Utilizing qPCR for high-throughput detection, the process is convenient, rapid, andnon-invasive, requiring only < 2mL of serum.
Accessibility
The cost of qPCR equipment is significantly lower than that of PET scans, allowingordinary medical testing centers to offer diagnostic services. This can greatly enhance theaccessibility of AD diagnosis.
Key Special Projects of the National Key Research and Development Program
Research on Early Warning Detection and Intervention of Alzheimer's Disease BasedonPeripheral Biomarkers