Application of Atomic Dielectric Resonance Spectroscopy for the screening of blood samples from patients with clinical variant and sporadic CJD.
BACKGROUND
Sub-clinical variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) infection and reports of vCJD transmission through blood transfusion emphasise the need for blood screening assays to ensure the safety of blood and transplanted tissues. Most assays aim to detect abnormal prion protein (PrPSc), although achieving required sensitivity is a challenge.


METHODS
We have used innovative Atomic Dielectric Resonance Spectroscopy (ADRS), which determines dielectric properties of materials which are established by reflectivity and penetration of radio/micro waves, to analyse blood samples from patients and controls to identify characteristic ADR signatures unique to blood from vCJD and to sCJD patients. Initial sets of blood samples from vCJD, sCJD, non-CJD neurological diseases and normal healthy adults (blood donors) were screened as training samples to determine group-specific ADR characteristics, and provided a basis for classification of blinded sets of samples.


RESULTS
Blood sample groups from vCJD, sCJD, non-CJD neurological diseases and normal healthy adults (blood donors) screened by ADRS were classified with 100% specificity and sensitivity, discriminating these by a co-variance expert analysis system.


CONCLUSIONS
ADRS appears capable of recognising and discriminating serum samples from vCJD, sCJD, non-CJD neurological diseases, and normal healthy adults, and might be developed to provide a system for primary screening or confirmatory assay complementary to other screening systems.
Fagge
Timothy J
TJ
National CJD Surveillance Unit & Division of Pathology, University of Edinburgh School of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK. tim.fagge@ed.ac.uk
Barclay
G Robin
GR
Stove
G Colin
GC
Stove
Gordon
G
Robinson
Michael J
MJ
Head
Mark W
MW
Ironside
James W
JW
Turner
Marc L
ML
D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods*