Currently, one in eleven Canadians over the age of 65 is living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or a related dementia; these numbers are expected to more than double within 25 years. Of the 500,000 Canadians affected by dementia across all ages, more than 71,000 are under the age of 65, and approximately 50,000 are under the age of 60.
At Phenomenome Discoveries Inc. (PDI), we are working toward an integrated disease management initiative designed to improve the early detection and treatment of AD. This initiative is designed to improve the quality of care at both the physician and the patient level.
Using PDI’s patented metabolic profiling technologies, changes in blood metabolites were discovered that correlated with both the presence and severity of AD. Years of research here in Saskatoon and with leading AD collaborators around the world have resulted in the determination that these changes are causal to the disease.
We are now announcing the first integrated AD management initiative that addressed the following key issues:
- The development of an efficient and effective screening program for the general geriatric population that involves a first stage blood test and a simplified second stage cognitive test for those identified at high risk;
- The development of both a symptomatic and disease modifying therapeutic that can halt the progression of the disease and potentially reverse some of the symptoms
PDI’s diagnostic screening blood test measures the levels of important fatty acids called PEPs (peripheral ethanolamine plasmalogens), which our research has shown are depleted in blood up to seven years before symptoms of AD emerge, and which likely play a causal role in the development of the disease.
PDI’s drug candidate, PPI-1011, is designed to raise the levels of PEPs in people whose low levels put them at risk for the development of AD and in AD patients. Pre-clinical data has already shown that PPI-1011 is effective and safe in restoring PEP’s animals.
A clinical trial on the diagnostic test will take place in Saskatoon, with the investigational drug entering clinical trials to follow.
For more information on these initiatives, please contact Phenomenome.
See our news page for press release and media coverage of the announcement.
For Media – Informational Backgrounder
Please visit our Mental Health section for more information on our neuroscience research program and Alzheimer’s.