New test ‘could facilitate earlier detection of Parkinson’s’

Cases of Parkinson's disease could be detected at an earlier stage thanks to the development of a new approach to testing.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have developed a way of detecting a molecule linked to the condition in samples of spinal fluid from patients. This protein molecule, called alpha-synuclein, forms clumps called Lewy bodies inside the brain cells of people with Parkinson's and some types of dementia.

A technique called real-time quaking induced conversion was used to measure the stickiness of the proteins, allowing tiny differences in their properties to be identified to see whether the patient has the disease or not.

Early tests showed the technique was able to accurately identify 19 out of 20 samples from patients with Parkinson's disease, as well as three samples from people considered to be at risk. No false positives were seen in any of the 15 control samples from healthy subjects.

Dr Alison Green of the national Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) research and surveillance unit at the University of Edinburgh said: "We have already used this technique to develop an accurate test for CJD, another neurodegenerative condition. We hope that with further refinement, our approach will help to improve diagnosis for Parkinson's patients."

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