OmegaQuant awarded grant to develop early screening tool for dementia risk based on fatty acid composition

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OmegaQuant (Sioux Falls, SD) has announced the receipt of a small business innovation research (SBIR) grant to develop a test that identifies fatty acid patterns to predict dementia risk as an early screening tool. The company explains in a press release that it has teamed up with the Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) to utilize large cohorts where they have access to fatty acid data and dementia outcomes. They will then deploy machine learning on this data to identify the ideal fatty acid profile for predicting dementia risk.

“If we are able to identify a highly predictive fatty acid-based risk factor, then we will test whether it is clinically relevant. In other words, will this fatty acid-based risk factor possess the predictive power against other traditional risk factors for dementia,” says William S. Harris, PhD, FASN, president and founder of FARI, and founder of OmegaQuant Analytics, in a press release. “If this Phase 1 grant delivers promising results, we will apply for a Phase II grant that will allow us to test this biomarker in a clinical trial and eventually bring this test to market.”

Harris co-invented the Omega-3 Index and the OmegaQuant provides testing of the Omega-3 Index via at-home kits, as well as DHA, HbA1c, vitamin D, and B12. Early screening tools such as the one proposed in this grant can significantly impact public health and generate immense cost-savings for individuals and the healthcare system at large, reasons OmegaQuant.

“There is a strong need for accessible and inexpensive early predictive biomarkers of dementia risk to facilitate the early identification of high-risk individuals, providing the time necessary to make meaningful lifestyle changes to slow or prevent disease progression,” Harris explains.