SYNAPS Dx opens lab to support launch of minimally invasive AD diagnostic test

SYNAPS Dx has announced the opening of a new laboratory to support the launch of DISCERN, a minimally invasive diagnostic test to identify Alzheimer’s disease in people with dementia.

According to a company release, the laboratory is located at the Greencourt Innovation Center in North Bethesda, Md., and will serve as the hub for the research, development and eventual commercialization of the test.

DISCERN supports a clinician’s diagnosis of AD by analyzing factors related to the formation of synaptic connections in the brain that impact memory loss and cognition, as well as regulators of amyloid plaque and tau formation, the company stated. The test combines three biomarkers — morphometric imaging to measure fibroblasts’ ability to form networks, protein Kinase C that correlates with synaptic activity and AD-index to measure phosphorylation of Erk1 and Erk2 in response to bradykinin.

“The test results are available in a matter of weeks to inform the clinician’s diagnosis and the most appropriate intervention for the patient, spanning medication, a clinical pathway or recommendations regarding diet, physical activity and mental exercise,” Frank Amato, CEO and president of SYNAPS Dx, said in the release.

The test has greater than 95% sensitivity and specificity, even in people recently diagnosed with dementia, per the release, and aims to minimize the use of costly alternatives such as PET scans and invasive spinal fluid tests.