UWA alliance to advance Alzheimer’s diagnosis and prevention to be headed up by leading Perth scientist

Perth scientists’efforts to develop an Australian-first blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s within the next two to three years have been given a boost through a $6 million partnership based at the University of WA. The blood test would work by measuring brain protein molecules in the blood, which can reflect changes in the brain linked to dementia. World-leading Alzheimer’s researcher Ralph Martins is heading up the joint effort as UWA’s inaugural chair of Alzheimer’s research - returning to a campus he left 22 years ago to continue his ground-breaking work. The new alliance brings together expertise from UWA, Alzheimers Research Australia and the Lion’s Alzheimer’s Foundation, and hopes to collaborate with like-minded doctors and scientists on campus and based elsewhere. “There are a lot of like-mined groups at the university to partner and collaborate with,” Professor Martins said. “It’s like coming home again and the support we have received has been amazing. And being at UWA, because it has the standing that it has, will help enhance our research programs in a very big way.” His endowed role will help him further drive research and patient trials aimed at providing earlier diagnosis and preventative options for people living with the degenerative condition - which is now the leading cause of death in Australia. Without breakthroughs in prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, that toll will get larger as the nation’s population ages - particularly given more than half of Alzheimer’s cases are caused by lifestyle factors and not genetics. Professor Martin said one of his priorities within the new alliance was fast-tracking a blood test that could make it far easier, quicker and cheaper for doctors in Australia to diagnosis the disease in at-risk people. Discussions towards commercialisation in-house and with diagnostic companies were already underway, he said. Currently, Australians seeking this kind of diagnosis must send a sample to the United States for a $1500 test (plus transportation costs) that takes up to eight weeks to deliver results. Though hospital PET scans are being developed, they will be too expensive to rely on for population-wide screening in the face of an anticipated exponential growth in the incidence of the disease across an ageing population. Public hospitals simply will not have the funding or capacity to offer enough screening tests for at-risk individuals. Instead, Professor Martins is looking towards a local blood test service that could deliver significantly faster results using a $200-$300 test. “The reason why we need the blood test, more urgently than ever before, is because disease modifying drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease are now available. Two were available in Australia as of last year... they aren’t on the (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) yet but once that happens, the demand (for an Australian diagnostic service) will be huge,” he said. Professor Martin is also keen to collaborate on Lions Institute research looking into the eye as a way to provide an early Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The team is using a $250,000-plus research camera to conduct eye examinations, which can demonstrate that changes in the eye can reflect changes in the brain. To take that research to fruition, a cheaper camera needs to be developed that could be made easily accessible to the wider community. The team is also part of an international trial looking at how lifestyle factors - including diets, strength and fitness training, addressing cardiovascular risk factors and computer-based brain training - might influence disease progression. Funding provided via the National Health and Medical Research Council, the US Alzheimer’s Foundation, the Lion’s Alzheimer’s Foundation and Alzheimer’s Research Australia allowed 600 particpants into the trial, which will be completed by the end of the year. “Participant feedback has been most encouraging,” Professor Martins said. “Once implemented the cost per participant will be much lower than the trial costs. The costs for drug treatment for 12 months is $140,000 for patients and the benefits are short lived.” Professor Martins’ was inspired into the Alzheimers’ field after family members died from the disease. He began a year-long study effort to offer his support, which ultimately turned into a four decades-long career that has become his life’s work. He and his team have been at the forefront of developing non-invasive and cost-effective early diagnostic targets for pre-clinical Alzheimer’s disease - and significantly advanced the global understanding of the disease. The new alliance between the three WA-based research facilities was the brainchild of former UWA pro-vice chancellor Romola Bucks, who approached Professor Martin with the idea that he lead it as the inaugural chair about two years ago. The alliance partners were then approached, and backed the idea with substantial funding. “The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea because it provides a legacy. When I finish in another five or 10 years the program will continue,” Professor Martins said. Being back at UWA also has another silver lining - it means he can contribute to training the next generation of WA doctors. “We are focused on research, but I think doctors need to me made more aware,” he said. “I think one of the biggest challenges is that GPs still don’t appreciate the importance of dementia and what can be done in terms of the treatment available, especially now that diagnosis is becoming a reality. “So what better way to do this than educate the next generation of medical students? That’s what I’m going to make my mission. ”