Surveillance of Parkinsonism
According to a blood test, the development of Parkinson's disease can be monitored
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
Scientists have developed a blood test that can accurately predict the development of Parkinson's disease in humans. Despite the lack of drugs to cure the disease, monitoring the condition will help to effectively adjust the existing supportive therapy.
A group of scientists from the UK has proved that with a simple blood test, it is possible to track the progression of Parkinson's disease – a neurodegenerative disease that has been developing in the body for many years without pronounced symptoms, and then reduces cognitive and motor functions of a person. The team identified special biomarkers that turned out to be informative for monitoring the condition, according to a press release IOS Press Simple Blood Test Could Help Predict the Progression of Parkinson's Disease.
Article by Martin-Ruiz et al. Senescence and Inflammatory Markers for Predicting Clinical Progression in Parkinson's Disease: The ICICLE-PD Study published in The Journal of Parkinson's Disease – VM.
Diagnostics is carried out on the basis of inflammatory biomarkers and indicators of cellular aging. To identify the most informative, scientists conducted a study with 150 patients with an established diagnosis.
For three years, they compared blood counts with the state of cognitive and motor function in volunteers. The data were compared with 99 healthy people of the same age group from the control group.
It turned out that telomere length, p16 and p21 gene expression indicators, as well as inflammation biomarkers in blood samples were prognostic indicators of disease progression.
"Identification of significant biomarkers is very important for predicting the stages of a disease that develops over many years. In addition, it is important to track the results of treatment and correction of therapy," the authors concluded. Including during the testing of new therapies in clinical trials, they emphasize.
Scientists from Korea recently introduced a blood test for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, which is "ahead" of Parkinson's disease in terms of the increase in incidence in the world. The researchers hope that in the coming years, tests will be introduced everywhere in medical practice for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases at early stages.
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