Early diagnosis of conformational diseases

摘要

A method for the diagnosis or detection of a conformational disease which is characterised by a conformational transition of an underlying protein between a non-pathogenic and a pathogenic conformer, by assaying a marker of said disease within a sample, which method comprises: (i) contacting said sample with an amount of the non-pathogenic conformer; (ii) disaggregating any aggregates eventually formed during step (i); and (iii) determining the presence and/or amount of said pathogenic conformer within the sample, the pathogenic conformer being a marker for the presence of said disease; wherein step (i) comprises step (ia) incubating said sample/non-pathogenic conformer and steps (ia) and (ii) form a cycle which is repeated at least twice before carrying out step (iii).