Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a new blood test, known as Amplified Plasmonic Exosome (APEX), to detect early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD).

The symptoms of Alzheimer's can be controlled and alleviated with early detection and intervention. The APEX system allows researchers to diagnose AD even before the clinical symptoms become evident by conducting a simple blood test.

The levels of amyloid beta (Aβ) in the brains of AD patients are higher than normal. The accumulation of Aβ damages brain cells also known as functional damage. Such protein is released into the circulatory system through bloodstream.

The APEX system is designed to detect and analyze the aggregated forms of Aβ proteins in blood samples with millions of nanopores. When the sensor detects an abnormal amount of amyloid beta proteins in the blood, it causes a color change in the associated light signal. Each APEX chip contains 60 neatly-arranged sensors. 

APEX technology is very powerful and an objective companion diagnostic system for early AD detection and better management, according to Shao Huilin, assistant professor at the NUS Institute for Health Innovation & Technology (UNS iHealthtech).

"As blood tests are relatively easy to administer, APEX can also be used to monitor a patient's response to the treatment. Furthermore, this technology can be easily scaled up for large cohort clinical validations and drug evaluation," Shao added.

Led by a 12-member research team, the findings have been published in the international scientific journal Nature Communications.