Process May Aid in Brain Diagnoses : Research: Procedure patented by Cortex Pharmaceuticals could help doctors detect Alzheimer’s disease.

Cortex Pharmaceuticals said Wednesday that it has been awarded a patent for a much cheaper and more accurate procedure to detect organic brain damage, a development that could effectively make it easier for doctors to diagnose the deadly Alzheimer’s disease.

The patented procedure, which now will undergo final testing and marketing, does not itself detect Alzheimer’s.

Instead, it distinguishes between organic brain damage and non-organic brain problems, such as depression and drug side-effects. And that, industry experts say, is the key to helping doctors diagnose Alzheimer’s, a progressive, incurable disease that destroys brain cells and afflicts about 2.5 million people nationally.

Once a doctor knows the problem is organic, it is easy to rule out other organic causes--a bump on the head, a stroke or a tumor--leaving Alzheimer’s as the probable cause, said Cole Owen, a biotechnology consultant in Del Mar.

“This has a high level of interest within the neuroscience community,” Owen said. “It is a much less expensive, less time-consuming and more objective way” to narrow the diagnosis to Alzheimer’s.

In addition, the less-expensive procedure in a more cost-conscious industry is important, said Richard Boch, a Los Angeles broker specializing in biotechnology companies for Sutro & Co. brokerage in San Francisco.

“This is really interesting in the sense that this is a screening test, and it can be used on a continuous basis to monitor cell breakdown,” Boch said.

Cortex intends to collaborate with an as-yet-unnamed diagnostic partner to develop final tests and bring the procedure to market, said Jay Glass, interim president and chief executive officer.

The patented procedure uses the protein spectrin as an indicator of the degeneration of brain cells. Spectrin, which makes up the casing of a cell, is a byproduct when a cell dies. A high level of spectrin indicates that cells are dying at a faster-than-normal rate.

Currently, doctors screen for the degeneration of brain cells with imaging scans, which cost $500 to $1,500 per procedure.

“I would be surprised if (our test) were to cost over $100,” Glass said, “although at this early stage, it’s difficult to predict the exact final cost.”

Founded by three UC Irvine professors 11 years ago, the research and development company could find financial independence with its first marketable product, Glass said.

Cortex will sell its patented procedure to raise capital, Glass said, and will use the proceeds to develop a drug to treat stroke.

The company’s news didn’t help its stock price, which fell 12.5 cents in over-the-counter trading Wednesday to close at $2.125 a share.