Solutions for detection of neurodegenerative disease
We develop blood testing products to help researchers make breakthrough discoveries in brain health and disease.
The Problem
Neurologic disease and brain trauma affect the lives of over 100 million patients in the US alone, accounting for over $1.3 trillion of nondiscretionary healthcare spending every year. Unfortunately, this market is challenged by failed drug trials, ineffective treatments, and delayed diagnoses. A critical missing piece is the lack of low-cost blood testing products that can be used as tools to enable breakthrough discoveries in research and drug development where failures to advance drugs to the market have been notorious.
ZelosDx's Solution
A discovery made by ZelosDx presents a unique opportunity to combine the need for an easy access to brain biomarkers with a sufficiently high level for their detection. It was found that the phagocytic cells that were recruited to the brain to clear the debris of neurodegeneration can then re-enter the blood circulation where they can be easily obtained through a blood sample. Peripheral blood monocytes provide a novel enriched source of brain-derived biomarkers. Since phagocytes in the blood are short lived, their content of brain specific debris is an indicator of recent damage and may be used as a marker of active neurodegeneration. Hence it may be viewed as a type of brain biopsy providing information about pathological changes in the brain.