2023-04-22 16:00:00
Success in Parkinson’s research: The Paracelsus-Elena Clinic in Kassel is significantly involved in a new test procedure that can contribute to the early detection of Parkinson’s.
Kassel – Anyone who is diagnosed with Parkinson’s usually already has motor problems such as tremors or movement disorders. So far, there has been no way to detect the disease early. Because when the diagnosis is made, the disease process in the brain has been going on for many years, according to the Paracelsus Elena Clinic in Kassel.
This could change now. Because as part of the clinic’s own long-term study “DeNoPa”, the Elena Clinic was able to use a biological test to detect Parkinson’s even before the first symptoms appear.
With this new test, the Elena Clinic has detected a protein that is misfolded in Parkinson’s disease in the cerebrospinal fluid of the study participants. The research team, led by the chief physician at the Elena Clinic, Prof. Dr. Brit Mollenhauer. The results have now been published on the front page of the American journal Movement Disorders.
“For many years it has been a goal of our research to develop a clear test for detecting Parkinson’s disease,” says Mollenhauer. The current results could be a breakthrough. “It can enable us to diagnose the disease at an early stage and to present the risk for patients,” says the chief physician.
Cerebral fluid examination as a test procedure
Samples of their cerebrospinal fluid were taken from the participants. This is a fluid found in the brain and spinal cord. This method is the weak point of the test: “Unfortunately, it requires a cerebrospinal fluid analysis. This and the subsequent analysis method are not yet used routinely,” says Prof. Dr. Brit Mollenhauer. Nevertheless, the approach is promising and should help to start further studies on active ingredients that have the potential for a preventive effect. It is easier to develop a procedure for biomarkers in the blood or as a nasal swab. Mollenhauer’s research team is working on this in the laboratory at the University Hospital in Göttingen.
The world’s largest Parkinson’s biomarker study, the PPMI study, also confirms this research result. The study is funded by the world’s largest funder of Parkinson’s research, the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Mollenhauer is also involved there as a researcher and co-author.
The PPMI research results are based on the study of more than 1100 participants, more than half of whom have Parkinson’s disease. The others are controls and come from risk groups with pre-existing conditions such as sleep disorders and loss of smell – both early signs of Parkinson’s. The new test method was able to detect Parkinson’s in 88 percent of the participants with a diagnosis.
The Elena Clinic in Kassel has been involved in the PPMI study for many years as one of the top recruitment centers in Europe. “Thus, numerous samples from Kassel were included in the results. This underlines the relevance of our work, which we carry out internationally as a research location for Parkinson’s research,” says Mollenhauer. She is proud to be part of the success through her own study and the close cooperation with the Fox Foundation.
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