Development of a rapid diagnostic assay for Myasthenia Gravis

Project Summary AbstractThe physiological effect of autoantibody binding to the motor endplate junction nicotinic acetylcholine receptorsAchRcauses numerous symptoms associated with Myasthenia GravisMGand is characterized by drooping of one or both eyesblurred or double visionchange in facial expressiondifficulty swallowingshortness of breathimpaired speech and weakness of muscle functionIn some casesa crisis can occur in which the muscles that control breathing weaken to the point where individuals require a ventilatorThe disease can be treated by thymectomyuse of anticholinesterase medicationsimmunosuppressive drugsplasmapheresis and intravenous immunoglobulinAlthough this can be a life threatening and severely debilitating diseaseMG clinical diagnosis often goes overlooked because muscles fatigue is a common symptom of many other disorders and most symptoms are not identified until there is a significant loss in AchRof normal levelsthus earlier detection would be a clear advantageThe receptor binding assays for the detection of anti AchR antibody found in the majority of MG patients are time consuming and typically rely on radioactively labeled toxin conjugateexpensive equipment and sophisticated detection technologies that require a highly skilled workforceThe objective of this proposal is to develop a novel lateral flow assay configuration for the rapid and sensitive detection of Anti AchROur goal is to convert the radioactive anti AchR receptor binding assays into a rapiduser friendly and robust visual detection methodologyWe expect that this assay will have significant commercial applications because it will be simple to performlow costrobust and is expected to be valuable for monitoring anti AchR and possibly a large spectrum of other important compoundsThe approach we propose will lead to significant cost and time saving improvementsThis will enable broader testing throughout the medical industry and faster responses for treatmentThese advantages would be a significant improvement for those diagnosed with MG Project NarrativeThe current methods used to confirm diagnoses of Myasthenia Gravis are labor intensivetime consumingcomplicated and use unreliable sources and hazardous materialsThereforewe propose to develop a consistentlow cost diagnostic tests which is rapid and simple to performBecause our proposed assay will make it easier for pathologists to interpretit has the potential to significantly improve the speed of disease detection and treatmentRapid detection and treatment decision making should enable physicians to mitigate disease progression and improve human health for those suffering from this debilitating disease