Jonathan Wilhoite Blog: Parkinson’s Protein Test May Soon Help Diagnose The Condition

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Parkinson’s Protein Test May Soon Help Diagnose The Condition

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Parkinson’s protein test may soon become a standard diagnosis procedure where researchers were able to find on a seemingly ‘sticky’ protein molecule found among dementia sufferers.

Parkinson’s protein test may revolutionize therapy and possible prevention

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, whose study was published in the journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.

Initial results of the study shows that sample numbers, although a bit few, proved very accurate and were consistent in finding these sticky protein clumps in the brain, especially with those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The study involved collecting samples of spinal fluid from 38 dementia and Parkinson’s patients, where they used a highly-sensitive process to search for a protein molecule called alpha-synuclein.

This type of protein molecule is found in normal and healthy brains, but it is when it clumps together that problems start to occur and has been shown to manifest in the brain of those patients.

They also accurately identified 19 out of 20 samples or an astounding 95% rate for Parkinson’s patients and three positive indicators for three who were believed to be at risk of later developing the condition.

Facts about Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative brain disease the results to the loss of nerve cells and progresses over time. There is still no established test that could detect the early signs of the condition or determine levels that would measure its effects on the brain.

Symptoms are often characterized by depression, poor gravitational balance, tremors and muscular rigidity, among others.

It also affects tens of millions of people all over the world and there is no cure that has been successfully developed to help treat this disease.

Further tests needed

Although many from the medical community lauded the breakthrough findings, calls for additional and equally in-depth studies are needed to come to establish those discoveries as conclusive evidence to push for other developmental researches for treatment and possible effective intervention.

“We hope that with further refinement, our approach will help to improve diagnosis for Parkinson’s patients,” says Dr Alison Green from the University of Edinburgh. “These people could then be given the opportunity to take part in trials of new medicines that may slow, or stop, the progression of the disease.”

The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation reports that around 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with this condition each year and may only get worse as this does not include those that are not reported.

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