METHOD FOR DETECTING SOLUBLE OLIGOMERIC AMYLOID BETA

1 . A method for quantitatively detecting soluble oligomeric amyloid β and diagnosing cognitive impairment comprising

(a) contacting a biological sample from a subject comprising soluble oligomeric amyloid β with an antibody or fragment thereof exhibiting selective binding to soluble oligomeric amyloid β and no detectable binding to amyloid β monomer, fibrillar amyloid, or protofibrillar aggregates of amyloid β;

(b) quantitatively measuring binding of the antibody or fragment thereof to the soluble oligomeric amyloid β to obtain a concentration of soluble oligomeric amyloid β in the biological sample; and

(c) quantifying the subject's cognitive impairment based on the concentration of soluble oligomeric amyloid β.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody is a monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody is a humanized monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof.