Diagnostic Blood Test for Parkinsons?

Ivanhoe Newswire

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A reliable biological test to identify Parkinsons disease has so far eluded scientists. But researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City think they may have found one.

The team screened changes in dozens of small, molecular biomarkers in blood. When they examined the blood of Parkinsons patients, metabolomic alterations formed in a pattern unique to the disease.

The test has exciting possibilities for early diagnosis and treatment of Parkinsons, which is a neurodegenerative condition that affects men and women equally. Some of its most famous victims are Michael J. Fox, Mohammed Ali and former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. According to the American Parkinsons Foundation, they are among the 1.5 million Americans with Parkinsons, and another 60,000 cases are diagnosed each year.

Right now, the only way to diagnose Parkinsons is through symptoms. We have no biological test, M. Flint Beal, M.D., neurologist-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and senior author of the study, was quoted as saying. At best, a symptom based screen is still only 90 percent accurate. That can cause real problems, because the remaining 10 percent who may have look-alike conditions -- such as multi-system atrophy or progressive supranuculear palsy -- end up getting treated with Parkinsons drugs. Dr. Beale notes there are other treatments that could be of more benefit to those people. He also points out an early detection test would be extremely useful in tracking those who have a family history of Parkinsons and are at high risk for getting the disease.

Metabolomics is the study of changes in the very small molecules found in body fluids and tissues. Genetic or environmental disturbances change the molecules in very specific ways. The new test is based on a patients metabolomic profile, which is why the results are so accurate.

Dr. Beale stressed more work needs to be done to validate their finding and a test that could be routinely used was still a few years away. We are currently enlarging the sample size and studying people at serial intervals to see if this test might also serve as a benchmark for disease progression, Dr. Beal said.

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SOURCE: Brain, 2008;131:389-396

Last updated 3/17/2008.

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