Diagnosing and treating alzheimers disease

Abstract

Described herein are methods, systems and compositions for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Also described are methods, systems and compositions to distinguish between Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In various embodiments levels of PACAP and/or SIRT3 are analyzed for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

1 . A method of detecting PACAP protein expression in a human subject suspected of having late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) obtaining or having obtained a sample from the human subject suspected of having LOAD, wherein the sample comprises at least one of a brain tissue or cerebrospinal fluid; and   (b) detecting, using an antibody-based assay, an expression level of PACAP protein in the sample.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the expression level of PACAP protein in the sample is detected using at least one of ELISA, Western blot, and flow cytometry. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising comparing the detected expression level of PACAP protein in the subject's sample to a reference level of PACAP protein. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising administering a composition comprising PACAP to the subject if the subject's expression level of PACAP is below that of the reference level of PACAP protein. 
     
     
         5 . A method of monitoring PACAP protein expression in a human subject suspected of having late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) obtaining or having obtained a first sample from the human subject suspected of having LOAD, wherein the sample comprises at least one of a brain tissue or cerebrospinal fluid;   (b) detecting, using an antibody-based assay, an expression level of PACAP protein in the first sample;   (c) obtaining or having obtained a second sample from the human subject suspected of having LOAD, wherein the sample comprises at least one of a brain tissue or cerebrospinal fluid; and   (d) detecting, using the antibody-based assay, an expression level of PACAP protein in the second sample.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the expression level of PACAP protein in the sample is detected using at least one of ELISA, Western blot, and flow cytometry. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising repeating steps (a) to (d) to detect an expression level of PACAP protein over time in the subject. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising comparing the detected expression level of PACAP protein in the subject's first or second sample to a reference level of PACAP protein. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising administering a composition comprising PACAP to the subject if the subject's expression level of PACAP is below that of the reference level of PACAP protein. 
     
     
         10 . A method of confirming a diagnosis of late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) in a human subject, the method comprising:
 (a) obtaining or having obtained a biological sample from a subject diagnosed with late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), wherein the biological sample is selected from a cerebrospinal fluid or a brain sample;   (b) assaying the biological sample to determine PACAP expression level;   (c) determining the subject has Alzheimer's disease if the PACAP expression level is lower than a reference value, or determining the subject does not have Alzheimer's disease if the PACAP expression level is not lower than the reference value; and   (d) administering a composition comprising PACAP to the subject if the subject is determined to have Alzheimer's disease.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein step (b) comprises detecting a PACAP expression level in the biological sample using an antibody-based assay. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the expression level of PACAP protein in the sample is detected using at least one of ELISA, Western blot, and flow cytometry.