Practical utility of urinary assay in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: AlzheimAlert

Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2008 Jan;8(1):21-8. doi: 10.1586/14737159.8.1.21.

Abstract

Urinary assay (Alzheimer's disease reaction titer [ADRT]) adds significant information in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), particularly for the nonspecialist. Clinical studies of ADRT in series of AD and non-AD patients have found sensitivity of 89-92.3%, specificity of 90-96.8%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 94.8-97.4% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 78.9-91.8%. The added information from the improvements of PPV and NPV are particularly helpful for the nonspecialist in the community. As a laboratory assay that requires a first-morning noncontaminated sample, ADRT is noninvasive, convenient and safe. ADRT is based on reagents derived from human AD brain cDNA. The pathophysiological roles of these genetic fragments and reagents are still under investigation. ADRT should have a positive impact on primary-care AD clinical practice.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / diagnosis*
  • Alzheimer Disease / urine
  • DNA, Complementary
  • Humans
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • DNA, Complementary