2023-10-24 08:30:23
by Cristina Marrone
A salivary swab measures changes in a toxic protein typical of Parkinson’s disease. Populations at risk are being studied in order to arrive at the application
Loss of smell, intestinal problems, sleep disturbances are some warning but generic symptoms of Parkinson’s disease which can appear up to ten years before the onset of tremors. Today the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is still based on purely clinical criteria but a saliva test can confirm (or deny) the diagnosis quickly and non-invasively. The test works, it was talked about at National Congress of the Italian Society of Neurology in Naplesbut studies involving larger populations are underway in order to move to an application phase.
What is the alpha-synuclein test
The salivary test measures a particular protein, alpha – synuclein, a protein normally present in the brain produced by neurons, which has the function of regulating the “traffic” of neurotransmitters at the synapse level. When the protein becomes diseased and toxic, it tends to form aggregates of fibrils which accumulate inside the neurons, leading to the death of nerve cells, in particular those that produce dopamine, the neurotransmitter involved in cognitive and emotional processes and motor skills. which drops dramatically in Parkinson’s disease. The alterations of this toxic protein, related to Parkinson’s disease, can be measured in various biological liquids, but a saliva test is simple and non-traumatic.
The prodromal phases of the disease
Salivary alpha-synuclein alterations are correlated with the clinical status of the patient suffering from the disease and is an important indicator of the pathology. «In populations at risk – underlines Alfredo Berardelli, past president of the Italian Society of Neurology (SIN) – it is conceivable, even if we do not yet know it, that the alterations of synuclein can also be highlighted in the prodromal phases: various studies have shown that already many years before the clinical onset, neurodegenerative alterations are established in various structures which precede the appearance of the classic clinical signs of the disease. We are currently studying with the University of Bologna a population at risk, people who have sleep disorders, one of the prodromal symptoms of Parkinson’s, to understand the correlation with the alteration of synuclein”.
A marker that can help distinguish other forms of parkinsonism
There is not yet a monoclonal antibody that targets modified alpha-synuclein, but the marker can distinguish those in the early stages of the disease from those who are not affected. «Alpha-synuclein – concludes Berardelli, who is also professor emeritus of neurology at the Sapienza University of Rome – is one of the mechanisms of the most scientifically demonstrated alterations for Parkinson’s disease, but it is possible that in parallel there are other alterations, in some cases triggered from inflammatory processes, which can trigger the disease. The alteration of alpha-synuclein is however specific to Parkinson’s and may help in the differential diagnosis with other forms of parkinsonism”
October 24, 2023 (modified October 24, 2023 | 08:24)
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