Scientists have developed a new technology that could help diagnose Parkinson's disease before symptoms appear, and speed up the search for a treatment. Diagnosing Parkinson's disease is difficult because there is currently no specific test for the condition. Symptoms vary and many other diseases have similar symptoms, which means that the condition can often be misdiagnosed. US scientists say they have found a way to identify the buildup of abnormal proteins associated with the disease long before symptoms appear. Their findings have been published in The Lancet Neurology.
The research appears to confirm that the method, known as the alphaSyn-SAA seed amplification assay, can accurately identify people at risk of developing the disease, and the results could pave the way for early detection, diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Globally, the prevalence of this condition has doubled in the past 25 years, with as many as 10 million people affected by the disease. Professor Andrew Sideroff, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and co-lead author of the study, said: 'Identifying an effective biomarker for Parkinson's disease pathogenesis could have profound implications for the way we treat Parkinson's disease. The condition, which will likely make it possible to diagnose people earlier, identify the best treatments for different subgroups of patients and speed up clinical trials.”
Parkinson's disease is caused by the buildup of abnormal proteins known as alphaSyn or alpha-synuclein throughout the brain and nervous system. This buildup is thought to occur years before physical symptoms such as tremors, slowness of movement or muscle stiffness appear.
Okaz (Washington)
