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Prevention of neurodegenerative diseases: LNE coordinates a European project
The European NEuroBioStand project "Standardisation of measurements of neurodegenerative disease biomarkers", which involves developing reference methods and certified reference materials to improve the reliability and comparability of biomarker assays in blood, was launched at the end of 2023.
Developing methods for diagnosing and monitoring neurodegenerative diseases
Currently, the diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases are based on cognitive tests, imaging examinations and the measurement of biomarkers. Although biomarker assays have the advantage of documenting the progress of the disease several years before the onset of symptoms, their analysis in cerebrospinal fluid (the biological fluid in which the brain is immersed) has the disadvantage of requiring a lumbar puncture, which is an invasive and often painful procedure that can be associated with side-effects and complications. New blood tests are also being developed, but the comparability of the results produced by the different assay methods needs to be improved.
Developing reference methods and materials
The main objective of the NEuroBioStand project is to develop reference methods and certified reference materials to improve the reliability and comparability of biomarker assays in blood. The project will provide reliable and comparable data that can be aggregated on a large scale. It will also enable the in vitro diagnostics industry to meet the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2017/746 2017 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices.
This project, funded under the "Health" call for projects of the "European Partnership on Metrology" (EPM) research programme, is coordinated by LNE. It involves improving the reliability and comparability of biomarker assays for various neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's disease.
A European consortium to carry out the work
Numerous stakeholders, including In Vitro Device manufacturers, clinicians, academics, proteomics and mass spectrometry companies, have supported the project.
In addition, the work will be carried out in close collaboration with the IFCC (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine) working group on biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases (IFCC WG BND), chaired by Henrik Zetterberg of the University of Gothenburg, who is also coordinating the activities on phosphorylated Tau protein as WP leader in NEuroBioStand.Le consortium regroupe :
The consortium includes :
- national metrology laboratories and designated institutes : LNE (France), PTB (Germany), TUBITAK-UME (Turkey), LGC (UK), JRC (EU),
- Hospitals : CHU de Montpellier (France), Charité Hospital Berlin (Germany), University of Gothenburg (Sweden), University Medical Centre Amsterdam (Netherlands),
- Academic laboratories : ESPCI and CNRS (France)
- an in vitro diagnostics company : ADx Neurosciences (Belgium)
The kick-off meeting was held on 20 and 21 November 2023 at the LNE.
To find out more, visit the project website
