Skin Biopsy as an Approach to Diagnose Parkinson ' s Disease

Researchers here demonstrate that the presence of phosphorylated α-synuclein in a skin biopsy is a good indicator of the presence of Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies. A skin biopsy is a more invasive procedure than most people want to undergo, but a greater ability to diagnose progressive diseases in their early stages will nonetheless tend to encourage the development of a greater ability to manage, treat, and avoid the later stages. Affecting an estimated 2.5 million people in the United States, the synucleinopathies include Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and pure autonomic failure (PAF). While the four progressive neurodegenerative diseases have varying prognoses and do not respond to the same therapies, they do share some overlapping clinical features such as tremors and cognitive changes. Additionally, all are characterized by the presence of an abnormal protein present in the nerve fibers in the skin called phosphorylated α-synuclein (P-SYN). In this investigation, titled the Synuclein-One Study, researchers enrolled 428 people, ages 40-99 years, with a clinical diagnosis of one of the four synucleinopathies based on clinical criteria and confirmed by an expert panel or were healthy control subjects with no history of neurodegenerative disease. Participants underwent three 3-millimeter skin punch biopsies taken from the neck, the knee, and the ankle. Among the participants...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs