Learn how a blood test is being used to detect the Alzheimer’s disease biomarker, phosphorylated tau, in research and clinical diagnosis

In deciphering the pathophysiology of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, early-stage biomarkers are often present at very low levels. Most conventional immunoassays used to detect these biomarkers tend to have colorimetric outputs that lack the sensitivity or the dynamic range required to detect and reliably measure low-abundance analytes. 

Traditional ELISA assays or colorimetric multiplexed assays often require sample dilution to accommodate higher loading volumes. This further dilutes the biomarker concentration, making it either undetectable or placing it below the lowest detectable limit of the assay, thereby rendering the quantitative output unreliable. To add to this challenge, one of the biggest bottlenecks when dealing with rare or valuable samples obtained from patients is its limited volume, which means repeat testing may not be feasible.

In these circumstances, translational and clinical researchers alike benefit from an immunoassay that reliably detects and quantifies low-level analytes, provides an unambiguous digital readout, and requires no sample dilution. In this SelectScience^® article, we speak with Dr. David Wilson, VP of Clinical Strategy at Quanterix, about using sensitive assays to detect trace concentrations of biomarkers in early disease stages. Read the full article here.