MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (MARKET WIRE) -- October 11, 2006 -- Osta Biotechnologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE: OBI) today announced the results of a pilot clinical study involving 81 subjects for the development of novel blood tests for Parkinson’s disease (PD) and also for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Data from this clinical study showed statistically significant difference in the plasma alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) concentrations of patients suffering from PD compared to normal elderly controls (NEC), patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and those suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Additionally, the data showed that the plasma AAT concentrations in subjects with MCI and AD were higher than those in NEC and PD subjects suggesting that plasma AAT concentrations could be useful in early diagnosis of AD. These results hold promise that these blood tests provide simple and reliable diagnosis of subjects suffering from Parkinson’s or early Alzheimer’s disease.
