New ultrasensitive test developed to detect corrupted protein responsible for CTE

Electron micrograph of tau clusters U.S National Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesLast month the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a paper in the Acta Neuropathologica medical journal titled “Seeding selectivity and ultrasensitive detection of tau aggregate conformers of Alzheimer disease.” That paper detailed a new test that could lead to dramatically better diagnostic tools and treatment for both Alzheimer disease (AD) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

CTE is a degenerative brain disease that is caused by clumps of Tau protein that spread throughout the brain, killing cells. As the Tau destroys cells the sufferer can experience symptoms that include…