Prognostic Test for Frontotemporal Dementia

Filed in archive Diagnostics, Methodologies and Instrumentation on March 10, 2009

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 6952418

A blood test has been developed to predict the risks of frontal lobe dementia (Frontotemporal Dementia, FTD), a form of dementia that occurs most frequently in patients younger than 65. The test is based on previous findings showing that a genetic defect in two genes on chromosome 17 cause a hereditable form of FTD, one of which results to production of only half the normal amount of a protein called progranulin in the blood.

On the basis of their research, Kristel Sleegers, a scientist in Van Broeckhoven's team, has developed a
test for measuring the quantity of progranulin in the blood in a simple way. This test enables one to determine whether someone has an increased risk of FTD due to a shortage of progranulin long before symptoms appear. The blood test can be used on a large scale and is much more simple and user-friendly than the current genetic tests. This finding also offers prospects for the early detection of FTD caused by a shortage of progranulin.

While the prognostic test offers early detection, there are currently no known treatment to fight FTD.