A cutting-edge technology and an exciting recent hire hint at exciting developments in the future of precision medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
UT Health San Antonio has recruited one of the best international researchers in the genetics and biology of Alzheimer’s disease to lead the Biological Core laboratory at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, according to Sudha Seshadri, MD, DM, professor of neurology and founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute. Agustin Ruiz, MD, PhD, began his work in San Antonio by securing a $300,000 grant to purchase a cutting-edge technology called NULISA™, that will allow his team to analyze tiny biological samples from patients seeking diagnosis.
Professor and director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases’ Biological Core laboratory
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
“It can be blood, can be tears, can be saliva, can be cerebrospinal fluid,” Ruiz said, “And then apply the technology to see the expression of the protein — the landscape of the proteins — that appear in the biofluid.”
Proteins are messages from our DNA, Ruiz explained. “Sometimes we have some problems in the message, and the proteins are not constructed in a proper way. Protein that is not well constructed can provoke diseases."
Examining the expression of proteins in biological samples is called proteomics. “We can identify a specific proteomic signature using the NULISA technology, identifying the prognosis of every patient and identifying the correct treatment for specific profiles,” Ruiz said.
This is an important step toward fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, which the FDA defines as providing the right treatment to the right person in the right moment.
“We can generate appropriate biomarkers for every subtype, and of course, we can provide the appropriate treatment for every subtype,” Ruiz said.
This would mean earlier and more accurate diagnosis, which would lead to earlier and more appropriate treatment. It would truly be “precision medicine.”
“This is our goal,” Ruiz added. “Our ultimate milestone will be to provide that to our patients.”
Ruiz expects major advances in the next few years.
Science & Medicine is a collaboration between TPR and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio that explores how scientific discovery in San Antonio advances the way medicine is practiced everywhere.
