News at a glance: A new malaria vaccine, a Parkinson ’s test, and editors resign

BIOMEDICINE Early test for Parkinson’s disease A large study has shown that a test can indicate a person has Parkinson’s disease before they start having symptoms. The chronic degenerative disease currently lacks a definitive biochemical test. A research team recruited 1123 participants, some of whom had symptoms of Parkinson’s, and used spinal taps to measure their levels of a protein called alpha-synuclein, which clumps and damages brain cells in people with the disease. Study participants whose alpha-synuclein clumped to an extent above a threshold level were deemed to have Parkinson’s. In 88% of the subjects, the test accurately indicated whether they had the disease , researchers reported last week in The Lancet Neurology . The new approach is likely too costly and invasive to be used widely for screening but may inform research into treatments, scientists say. INFECTIOUS DISEASES Ghana OKs new malaria vaccine Although results from clinical trials are still pending, Ghana has become the first country to approve a new malaria vaccine, which will likely be less expensive than an existing vaccine. The new vaccine, called R21/Matrix-M, is unlikely to be used widely before the World Health Organization (WHO) endorses it, which would enable international funders to purchase the vaccine. R21/Matrix-M showed promising results in a preliminary trial involving 450 children, but researchers have...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news