title: Single particle detection of Abeta aggregates associated with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia. Today, AD can be diagnosed with certainty only post-mortem, by histopathologic staining of Abeta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in brain tissue sections. We have developed an ultra-sensitive assay potentially suitable for early and non-invasive diagnosis of AD. This highly specific and sensitive assay uses fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and is sensitive enough to detect even single aggregates in body fluids of AD patients. First results show a clear distinction between AD diseased people and non-demented controls by analysing cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) by confocal scanning of surface captured Abeta aggregates and subsequent two-dimensional fluorescence intensity distribution analysis.
authors.affiliation: Forschungszentrum Jülich, INB-2, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne Aileen
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Funke
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Birkmann
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Henke
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Görtz
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lange-Asschenfeldt
authors.forename: Detlev
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Riesner
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Willbold
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides