Serum Copper and Zinc Status Assessed in Patients

A diagnostic test panel is designed to assess the metabolic serum copper and zinc status of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Defects in copper metabolism and high free copper levels are increasingly being recognized as significant factors in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including AD and MCI. A clinical zinc deficiency in AD patients has also been recognized for the first time in a recent clinical study.

The diagnostic panel will be offered through Adeona Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) subsidiary, Hartlab LLC--a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified clinical reference laboratory. Initial marketing efforts will target neurologists, psychiatrists, gerontologists, nursing homes, and other physicians and institutions that regularly treat patients with these neurodegenerative conditions.

Max Lyon, Adeona's CEO, stated, "We consider chronic copper toxicity to be a significantly under-recognized and modifiable risk factor for the progression of AD and MCI. We have also recently completed the first international epidemiological study finding a correlation between copper plumbing tube use and the rates of prevalence of Alzheimer's disease by country and believe that such study lends further support to the growing body of evidence that chronic inorganic copper exposure plays an important role in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Using Adeona's proprietary, modified oral zinc delivery technologies, Adeona is preparing to initiate the first clinical trial of oral zinc therapy for the once-a-day dietary management of AD and MCI."

Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the awareness, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of zinc deficiency and chronic copper toxicity in adults. The company believes that these conditions may contribute to the progression of debilitating degenerative diseases, including dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in susceptible persons.

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