Immunoassay of s-adenosylmethionine using analogs thereof and personalized therapeutics

Abstract

A method of detecting the presence or absence of a disease in a patient wherein said disease is accompanied by deficient levels of S-adenosylmethionine comprising: identifying a patient that is suspected of having said disease or is at risk of having said disease; obtaining a biological sample from said patient; determining the level of S-adenosylmethionine in said biological sample using an antibody derived from a hapten analog of S-adenosylmethionine; and correlating the level of S-adenosylmethionine in said biological sample with the presence or absence of said disease. The invention also provides methods for measuring SAH which is used to determine the methylation index (ratio of SAM/SAH) in biological fluids which is indicative of the health status of an individual.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for treating mood disorders in a human which method comprises:
 (a) determining the concentration of S-adenosylmethionine in said human wherein said method comprises: (i) obtaining a sample; (ii) mixing said sample with antibody specific for S-adenosylmethionine; (iii) detecting the binding of S-adenosylmethionine present in said sample with said antibody; (iv) quantifying the binding as a measure of the amount of S-adenosylmethionine present in said sample;   (b) correlating the levels of SAM with said mood disorders; and   (c) based on the correlation results of (b) administering effective amounts of a drug effective in treating said mood disorders.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said drug is phenelzine, tranylcypromine, moclobemide, imipramine, amitriptyline, desipramine, nortriptyline, doxepin, protriptyline, trimipramine, clomipramine, amoxapine, fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, citalopram, fluvoxamine, venlafaxine, maprotiline, amoxapine, trazodone, bupropion, duloxetine, escitalopram, citalopram, nefazodone, venlafaxine, milnacipran, reboxetine, mirtazapine, Kava-Kava, St. John's Wart, s-adenosylmethionine, thyrotropin releasing hormone, neurokinin receptor antagonists, triiodothyronine, neuropeptides, compounds targeting neuropeptide receptors and hormones. 
     
     
         3 . A method for diagnosing in a subject, or predicting the susceptibility of a subject to, a mental or neurodegenerative disorder, the method comprising: (a) obtaining one or more biological samples from the subject; (b) determining the levels of S-adenosylmethionine or the methylation index associated with said sample; and (c) comparing the levels of the biomarkers determined in (b) with the levels of said biomarkers from one or more control samples, wherein abnormal levels of the two or more biomarkers in the sample(s) from the subject compared to the one or more control samples is predictive of susceptibility of the subject to a mental or neurodegenerative disorder. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the control sample is derived from one or more individuals known not to suffer from a mental or neurodegenerative disorder or alternatively known to suffer from a specific, diagnosed mental or neurodegenerative disorder. 
     
     
         5 . A method of detecting the presence or absence of a disease in a patient wherein said disease is accompanied by deficient levels of S-adenosylmethionine comprising: identifying a patient that is suspected of having said disease or is at risk of having said disease; obtaining a biological sample from said patient; determining the level of S-adenosylmethionine in said biological sample using an antibody derived from a hapten analog of S-adenosylmethionine; and correlating the level of S-adenosylmethionine in said biological sample with the presence or absence of said disease.