Two of the neurodegenerative diseases, that is Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are very common, affecting millions of lives globally. What is worrisome is that the incidence of these brain disorders is on the rise.
Despite more than a century of research, science has a limited understanding of why diseases like Parkinson’s begin. There are also limited treatment options and no cure for the condition.
One of the reasons why neurodegenerative disorders are so difficult to treat is that they are diagnosed very late. By the time symptoms occur, precious time to prevent damage to critical brain structures has been lost.
If there is some way to diagnose Parkinson’s early, doctors can manage it more effectively. Further, this may also help find a cure for the condition.
One of the ways of early diagnosis of Parkinson’s is testing cerebrospinal fluid. However, this test is not practicable for mass screening. There is a need to find simpler blood tests. Researchers now think that they have found such tests.
New Blood Test May Help Diagnose Parkinson’s Much Earlier
A team of researchers from UCL and University Medical Center Göttingen has developed an AI-based blood test capable of predicting Parkinson’s disease up to seven years before symptoms appear.
Currently, Parkinson’s treatments focus on dopamine replacement after symptoms like tremors and memory problems develop. Early prediction is essential to protect these brain cells and explore treatments to slow or halt the disease’s progression.
The study, published in Nature Communications, used machine learning to analyze eight blood-based biomarkers, achieving 100% accuracy in diagnosing Parkinson’s. The AI tool also predicted the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s by analyzing blood samples from patients with Rapid Eye Movement Behavior Disorder (iRBD), which often precedes Parkinson’s. The AI identified 79% of iRBD patients with the same biomarker profile as Parkinson’s patients. Over ten years, the AI predictions aligned with clinical outcomes, accurately predicting 16 patients’ progression to Parkinson’s up to seven years before symptoms.
Co-first-author of the study, Dr. Michael Bartl, highlighted that identifying eight blood proteins allows for early detection of potential Parkinson’s patients, enabling earlier therapeutic interventions to slow or prevent disease progression.
The biomarkers identified are directly linked to processes like inflammation and protein degradation, presenting new drug targets. The team, including Professor Kailash Bhatia, is further validating the test’s accuracy by examining high-risk individuals with genetic mutations linked to Parkinson’s. Additionally, they aim to develop a simpler blood spot test for even earlier detection.
The Bottom Line
At present, medications can help manage Parkinson’s symptoms. However, medications have limited use in halting its progression. However, with the introduction of new tests, and thus the early detection of high-risk patients, it would be possible to focus on preventing disease progression.
Since these new tests are pretty simple, they might be quickly introduced for mass screening of high-risk individuals. These tests would also help transform research into neurodegenerative disorders. Thus, such tests focusing on early detection of the condition can not just help with early diagnosis, but they might also transform disease treatment.
Get in touch with us to get the care you need! We at Padda Institute, a center for interventional pain management clinic in St. Louis, MO, help our patients by offering cutting-edge solutions and support for severe chronic pain.
Source:
Hällqvist, J., Bartl, M., Dakna, M., Schade, S., Garagnani, P., Bacalini, M.-G., Pirazzini, C., Bhatia, K., Schreglmann, S., Xylaki, M., Weber, S., Ernst, M., Muntean, M.-L., Sixel-Döring, F., Franceschi, C., Doykov, I., Śpiewak, J., Vinette, H., Trenkwalder, C., … Mollenhauer, B. (2024). Plasma proteomics identify biomarkers predicting Parkinson’s disease up to 7 years before symptom onset. Nature Communications, 15(1), 4759. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48961-3
