Global Courant 2023-04-14 06:09:21
In a new Parkinson’s disease breakthrough in research, scientists have developed a technique that allows them to detect a key signature of the disease in the brain and body cells of living people.
Called a-synuclein seeding amplification assay, the technique can detect an abnormal protein associated with Parkinson’s disease in both symptomatic and asymptomatic people. This means it has the potential to act as an early warning system for people who may not realize they are at high risk of developing Parkinson’s.
“(a-synuclein seeding amplification assay) allows us to go to another level in executing novel disease prevention strategies,” said lead researcher Dr. Ken Marek in an April 13 press release.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes inadvertent or uncontrollable movements, such as trembling, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination. It can also lead to changes in behavior, sleep problems, depression, memory loss and fatigue.
A study describing the breakthrough was published in the medical journal The Lancet Neurology on April 12.
According to the authors, the test can confirm the presence of abnormal alpha-synuclein, also known as Parkinson’s protein, in most people with Parkinson’s disease, with an accuracy of 93 percent. The test was abnormal in less than five percent of people without Parkinson’s.
Alpha-synoclein is a protein normally found in the nervous system that, like amyloid in Alzheimer’s disease, can misfold and clump together, damaging neurons and causing Parkinson’s disease. That’s when it’s considered abnormal alpha-synuclein.
Until now, scientists have only been able to confirm the presence of abnormal alpha-synuclein clumps in deceased patients through postmortem analysis. According to the study, being able to detect this Parkinson’s biomarker in living patients could enable specialists to diagnose the disease and begin interventions sooner than ever. The researchers said it could potentially have the added benefit of deterring some newly diagnosed patients from ever developing full-blown symptoms.
The new technique exploits a feature of abnormal alpha-synuclein, causing nearby, normal alpha-synuclein to also misfold and clump together. For the assay, spinal fluid samples are prepared with a fluorescent contrast agent that illuminates when alpha-synuclein clumps form.
Normal alpha-synuclein is then added to the spinal fluid sample. If abnormal alpha-synuclein is present in the sample, clumps form between the newly introduced normal alpha-synuclein and the dye lights up. If there is no alpha-synuclein in the sample, no clumps will form and the dye will not light up.
The biomarker breakthrough was achieved by an international coalition of scientists as part of a large clinical trial funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI).
“We’ve never before been able to see in a living person whether this alpha-synuclein biological change is happening in their body,” said Todd Sherer, chief mission officer at the Michael J. Fox Foundation in a press release, adding that by helping to identifying people in the earliest stages of Parkinson’s, “we could study what happens at different biological stages of the disease.”
The Michael J. Fox Foundation pursues a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda, which includes large, open data studies such as the PPMI.
Fox was diagnosed with the early onset of Parkinson’s disease in 1991 at the age of 29 and established the foundation in 2000.
“I am moved, humbled and blown away by this breakthrough, which is already transforming research and care, with tremendous opportunity to grow from here,” Fox said in a press release published April 13.
“I am so grateful for the support of patients, families and researchers who are working with us as we continue to smash doors on the path to eradicating Parkinson’s once and for all.”
