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Diagnosis test possible - biomarkers found for ALSFebruary 25, 2006
There is no cure for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, and until now, there has been no diagnosis for it either.
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York say they have identified three proteins found in significantly low concentration in the cerebral spinal fluid of patients with ALS compared to healthy individuals. These are the first biomarkers for this disease.
Giulio Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry, neuroscience, and geriatrics and adult development at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, says, "ALS is a very difficult disease to diagnose. To date, there is no one test or procedure to ultimately establish the diagnosis of ALS. It is through a clinical examination and series of diagnostic tests, often ruling out other diseases."
Researchers now believe testing for these protein concentrations may provide a means of early diagnosis, allowing patients to receive relief from symptoms years earlier.
"For the first time we, have the possibility of developing a test that can definitively say whether or not a patient has ALS," Dr. Pasinetti says. "Such a test would eliminate the need for patients to undergo months of diagnostic evaluation and remove the uncertainty that currently lingers with physicians and patients even after a diagnosis is made."
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