Protein detection in the blood New test enables early detection of Parkinson's disease

A test could detect Parkinson's before the first symptoms appear by detecting specific proteins in the blood. This could significantly improve diagnosis and enable early treatment.

Parkinson's is often diagnosed far too late. The reason for this is that initial signs such as movement disorders, olfactory disturbances, pain in muscles and joints and fatigue are often not associated with the disease.

Parkinson's is a disease of the brain. Nerve cells are lost in the process. The typical later symptoms are slowness and loss of movement, often together with muscle stiffness.

Early diagnosis is important because the symptoms can be easily treated. An international research team from the Walt Group has now developed a method that would significantly improve diagnosis.

"Liquid biopsy"

But how exactly does it work? The technique is also known as "liquid biopsy". It involves finding certain proteins in the blood that can be linked at an early stage - even before the first symptoms appear.

This "liquid biopsy", a type of blood test, could detect Parkinson's in its early stages. The research team uses tiny particles, so-called extracellular vesicles (EV), which transport biological clues from the brain and can be detected in the blood, as "Focus" writes.

EVs are very small "vesicles" that are secreted by cells and transport various substances, such as proteins.

Serves as an early indicator for Parkinson's disease

The researchers discovered that EVs can reliably trap certain proteins associated with Parkinson's disease. As these EVs also circulate in the blood, they could be used as early indicators of the disease. This is important because Parkinson's is often only diagnosed when the disease is already well advanced.

To ensure that only the really relevant proteins are measured in the EVs, the researchers have developed a method that removes unwanted substances.

To do this, the EVs are treated so that proteins that only adhere to their surface are detached. This leaves only the proteins inside that could actually be important biomarkers, i.e. early signs of diseases such as Parkinson's, according to Focus.

Protein can be examined precisely

With the improved method, the researchers were able to examine the protein α-synuclein, which plays an important role in Parkinson's, in detail, as "Focus" writes. In the disease, α-synuclein is more frequently "phosphorylated". This means that it acquires an additional chemical group, a characteristic that often indicates the progression of the disease.

The new test can detect this special protein in the EV, which contain the modified protein around two to three times more frequently than the rest of the blood plasma. These vesicles protect the modified protein from degradation processes and make it useful for diagnosis.

This allows patients with Parkinson's to be distinguished from healthy individuals.