Early Diagnosis of Parkinson's

[George K]

New Assay Hailed as a Game Changer

An alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (αSyn-SAA) accurately identifies people with Parkinson's disease (PD), as well as those at risk for PD and those with early, prodromal symptoms, and provides information on molecular subtypes, new research indicates.
"Identifying an effective biomarker for Parkinson's disease pathology could have profound implications for the way we treat the condition, potentially making it possible to diagnose people earlier, identify the best treatments for different subsets of patients, and speed up clinical trials," the study's co-lead author Andrew Siderowf, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, said in a news release.
"Our findings suggest that the αSyn-SAA technique is highly accurate at detecting the biomarker for Parkinson's disease regardless of the clinical features, making it possible to accurately diagnose the disease in patients at early stages," added co-lead author Luis Concha-Marambio, PhD, director of research and development at Amprion, San Diego, California.

The authors of an accompanying editorial note the study "lays the foundation for a biological diagnosis" of PD.
"We have entered a new era of biomarker and treatment development for Parkinson's disease. The possibility of detecting a misfolded α-synuclein, the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease, by employing an SSA, is a seminal development," write Daniela Berg, MD, PhD, and Christine Klein, MD, with University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
"However, to fully leverage the enormous potential of the α-synuclein seed amplification, the test would have to be performed in blood rather than the CSF, a less invasive approach that has proven to be viable," they add.
"Although the blood-based method needs to be further elaborated for scalability, α-synuclein SAA is a game changer in Parkinson's disease diagnostics, research, and treatment trials," they conclude.

[Klaus]

Sounds pretty good, but it also sounds like it's still a very long way from finding a cure.

[George K]

@Klaus said in Early Diagnosis of Parkinson's:

Sounds pretty good, but it also sounds like it's still a very long way from finding a cure.

Indeed. A cure, or even effective treatment, is still a long way away.

We have a neighbor (age 76) who moved in about 3 years ago. When Mrs. George and I first met them, in the elevator, it was obvious, at least to me, that Jim has Parkinson's. Mrs. George was surprised. There's no tremor, he moved a bit slowly, but the expressionless face was a dead giveaway, at least to me.

Finally, about 6 months ago, after Jim was in the hospital for an unrelated matter, his wife and I were talking, and she told me how his Parkinson's makes treatment difficult.

The blood-brain barrier is a bitch. Getting meds INTO the brain is difficult for most medications.

[Jolly]

It's a horrible disease. I have a friend my age that had a decent career as an ophthalmologist cut short due to Parkinson's. Medication, then medication plus a brain implant. First, no surgery, then, no office patients, then, no office and then down to some type of deskwork where he reviewed charts or some such.

Now, he can't do that.

Any progress in diagnosis and treatment is a good thing...

[George K]

@Jolly said in Early Diagnosis of Parkinson's:

medication plus a brain implant

I know a guy who's all into neuromodulation for various conditions (chronic pain, Parkinson's, etc). How did the stimulator work for him?

It's a horrible disease.

When you ask people what the worst part is, they'll say it's the stiffness. They just "can't get moving." But once started, it's OK. Jim is just a bit older than I am, and it's depressing AF to see this.

I've read that there's an association of Parkinson's with dementia. If that sets in, it makes it all the more horrible.

[Jolly]

The DBS worked pretty well for five or six years, then it seemed like the effectiveness tailed off a lot.