Neurotrack introduces early Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic test

The launch was based on the results from a 5-year longitudinal study, funded by the NIH, which demonstrated the ability of the test in detecting Alzheimer’s disease at least three to four years before clinical symptoms appear with 99% accuracy.

Emory University neurology associate professor Elizabeth Buffalo said one of the biggest hurdles that pharmaceutical companies face in the development of preventive drugs for Alzheimer’s disease is populating their clinical trials with appropriate candidates — those who are pre-symptomatic but who have Alzheimer’s disease.

"It is estimated that 80% of candidates who are part of Alzheimer’s trials fail out at some point over the course of the trial because they no longer meet trial criteria," Buffalo added.

Emory University psychiatry professor and Yerkes National Primate Research Center director Stuart Zola said Neurotrack’s test focuses on memory ability that critically depends on the integrity of the hippocampus, one of the first areas of the brain that is affected in the course of Alzheimer’s.

"Our hope is that this tool will allow us to determine who is on the trajectory for Alzheimer’s and then provide intervention at a time when the brain is less compromised," Zola added.