IN VITRO METHOD FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS

1 . A method for the detection and early detection, for the determination of the severity and for the assessment of the course and prognosis of neurodegenerative disorders, in which the concentration of the immunoreactive apolipoprotein apo C-I is determined in a serum or plasma sample of a patient who is suffering from subjective or objectively detectable cognitive impairments with the aid of an immunodiagnostic assay method, and in which conclusions regarding the presence of a neurodegenerative disorder or of an early form thereof typical of this or regarding the course of the disorder and/or the success of the efforts for its alleviation or treatment are drawn on the basis of the measured concentration.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the immunodiagnostic assay method is an immunoassay of the sandwich type.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the neurodegenerative disorder is a dementia selected from the group consisting of Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with lewy bodies (DLB), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and various forms of vascular dementia (VD).

4 . The method of claim 4 , wherein said method is carried out as part of Alzheimer diagnostics for detecting early forms of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said method is carried out as part of a multiparameter determination in which at least one further biochemical or physiological parameter informative for the respective clinical picture is simultaneously determined and in which a measured result in the form of a set of at least two measured variables, which is evaluated for fine diagnosis of the neurodegenerative disorder, is obtained.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein, in addition to the determination of the immunoreactive apo C-I, at least one further biochemical parameter selected from the groups consisting of the natriuretic peptides, inflammation mediators, complement components, cytokines, chemokines, the blood coagulants and fibrinolytic factors, acute phase proteins and free radical compounds is determined as part of the multiparameter determination.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the multiparameter determination is effected as a simultaneous determination by means of a chip technology measuring apparatus or by means of an immunochromatographic measuring apparatus.

8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the evaluation of the complex measured result of the multiparameter determination is effected with the aid of a computer program.

9 . A method for the detection of dementia in a human patient in whom cognitive ability is diminished, said method comprising:

(a) obtaining a blood, plasma, or serum sample from said patient; and

(b) determining the amount of human apolipoprotein (apo C-I) in said sample using an immunodiagnostic assay, wherein a decreased level of apo C-I compared to normal controls indicates dementia.