2023-05-25 09:06:44
Methods for the early detection of Parkinson’s disease have been researched for years. Now a breakthrough seems to be on the horizon: The α-synuclein seed amplification assay (SAA) can detect the smallest amounts of the misfolded protein long before the onset of motor symptoms, researchers report in the journal „The Lancet Neurology“.
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Neurons with Lewy bodies: the red inclusions plotted are deposits of misfolded α-synuclein.
33 neurology outpatient clinics worldwide (including Austria) took part in the multicentric study published in May and funded by the Michael J Fox Foundation (Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI)). The validity of the α-synuclein-SAA was examined. With the new method, the misfolded protein alpha-synuclein can be detected in the brain fluid of people with Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania examined the well-characterized, multicenter Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) cohort to assess the diagnostic performance of the α-synuclein SAA. Between 2010 and 2019, a total of 1,123 people from 33 neurology outpatient clinics worldwide (including Austria) were included in the study. Of these, 545 had PD, 163 were healthy controls, 54 participants with scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit, 51 prodromal participants, and 310 were non-manifest carriers.
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