Early Diagnosis Of Parkinson's May Be Possible With Discovery Of New Antibody

Copied from The Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation Weekly News Update

Petra Rattue

medical news today - Around 15,000 to 16,000 Austrian's suffer from Parkinson's disease, a degenerative condition of the brain, which becomes more prevalent with age. The frequency of Parkinson's disease will become more widespread as society ages.

The neurodegenerative Parkinson's and related diseases occur because of pathogenic changes to proteins. In Parkinson's disease, a disease with no current cure, the alpha-synuclein protein alters, becoming pathological. Demonstrations of changes in alpha-synuclein linked to Parkinson's have so far been not possible as no antibodies have been available. However, a study published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica now reports an international team of experts led by Gabor G. Kovacs from the Clinical Institute of Neurology at the MedUni Vienna has now discovered a new antibody which is able to demonstrate these changes.

Kovacs declares: "It opens up new possibilities for the development of a diagnostic test for Parkinsonism. This new antibody will enable us to find the pathological conformation in bodily fluids such as blood or CSF."

The team is already conducting a clinical study with approximately 200 patients and the first definitive results can be expected at the end of this year. The clinical study is performed in collaboration with research leader Walter Pirker from the University Department of Neurology and aims to determine the extend to which the new antibody can be utilized as an early diagnostic tool to gain a better understanding and to treat the condition more effectively.

The diseased form of alpha-synuclein in people with Parkinson's disease shares the same primary structure as the healthy form, yet the diseased form undergoes an "abnormal fold". Kovacs explains: "Until now, however, it was not possible to distinguish between the two."

Previous immunodiagnostic techniques only allowed confirmation of the general presence of alpha-synuclein, whereas the new, monoclonal antibody can detect a strategic part of the protein, which is responsible for the structural changes. The new antibody has been developed in collaboration between the researchers from MedUni Vienna and the German biotech company Roboscreen.

Kovacs concludes: "It is still not possible to say whether or not we will be able to diagnose Parkinson's from a blood test, but this discovery certainly represents a major step in that direction."

The researchers believe that in theory a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease should be possible five to eight years before the disease develops.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248208.php