Nursing wet lab equipped to carry out FDA-approved screen for Alzheimer’s

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of a new blood test to aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is a boost for the University at Buffalo School of Nursing’s wet lab.

The lab, led by nursing researcher Carleara Weiss, explores the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and biomarkers of neurodegeneration, sleep disturbances and cognitive decline. Biomarkers are measurable substances in living organisms that researchers look at to determine how well someone responds to a treatment or tissues that show signs of normal/abnormal body processes or diseases.

The FDA-approved, blood-based biomarker tests for neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Weiss, PhD, assistant professor of nursing, already uses the FDA-approved technology, which examines biomarkers using phosphorylated tau protein (pTau) and beta-amyloid, to study cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s.

“At my laboratory, I have the expertise and ultrasensitive equipment to perform these tests and use them in my research to promote brain and sleep health, identifying interventions that slow down the biomarker accumulation,” says Weiss.

FDA approval of this blood-based biomarker test elevates the value of Weiss’ work, according to School of Nursing officials. More specifically, the FDA-approved biomarker test confirms the scientific validity of the biomarkers her lab already uses and increases demand for the kind of expertise and laboratory capacity she brings to UB nursing research.

Weiss is using this technology to screen Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers and make a deeper connection between biomarkers and sleep disorders, gender, race and ethnicity.

“I am hoping that I can establish these standard preventive care practices to avoid AD, like we have for cancer,” she says.

“Because the FDA test is a screening tool to identify a patient’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s, but is not diagnostic,” she says, “I am also testing other potential biomarkers and cognitive assessments that may aid in better risk detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s; for example, how long until the person who tested positive will develop Alzheimer’s disease.”

The work potentially opens the door to new research collaborations with the UB wet lab, as well as new funding opportunities, according to School of Nursing officials.

One of the goals of the FDA-approved test is early detection, and getting patients answers sooner through less-invasive methods. When patients receive answers sooner, clinicians need effective, noninvasive interventions to help preserve cognitive function. Weiss’ research on sleep and neurodegeneration supports that need directly, making her work even more timely and clinically relevant, administrators in the School of Nursing say.

Weiss is currently working on sleep health with a National Institute of Health grant to study how nicotinamide riboside (NR), a type of vitamin B3, affects sleep and memory in older adults.

“I am fortunate to bring modern, ultrasensitive technology to my lab at the University at Buffalo School of Nursing while also working to identify new biomarkers associated with specific clinical conditions and demographics, such as obstructive sleep apnea and African Americans,” she says.

She is working with other funding agencies, such as organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association, to expand the research.