Biotech Company: New Blood Test Spots Alzheimer's, Breast Cancer, Parkinson's Before You Get Sick
Friday, November 30, 2007
A Texas Biotech company says it's developed a blood test that will spot Alzheimer's disease even before a patient gets sick, Popsci.com reports.
Houston-based Power3 Medical Products says it has pioneered simple, low-cost blood tests for Alzheimer's, as well as breast cancer and Parkinson's disease.
"With our tests, you don't have to wait around for 6 or 10 years [to spot the problem]," CEO Steven Rash told Popsci.com.
The breast cancer test, to be released next year, is less invasive than a mammogram and is the first diagnostic to result from the field of proteomics, which looks for telltale proteins in a person's blood, just as genetic tests screen for disease-causing genes.
The company is also developing protein-based tests for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Currently, a conclusive Alzheimer's test is only available at the time of death. These tests will also be out next year.
