(HealthDay News) — A new blood test might be able to predict Parkinson’s disease up to seven years before symptoms of the movement disorder surface, researchers said.
The test correctly predicted a high risk of Parkinson’s in 16 patients who went on to develop the disease, results show.
If validated, the test could help provide early treatment that might blunt or even block the onset of Parkinson’s, researchers said.
“As new therapies become available to treat Parkinson’s, we need to diagnose patients before they have developed the symptoms,” said senior researcher Kevin Mills, a professor with University College London.
What causes Parkinson’s?
Parkinson’s is caused by the death of nerve cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra, which controls movement.
These nerve cells produce an important hormone called dopamine. As a person’s dopamine levels decline, they develop symptoms like tremors, slowness of movement and gait and memory problems, researchers said.
Currently, people with Parkinson’s are treated with dopamine replacement therapy once they’ve developed symptoms.
How can Parkinson’s be treated?
It’s believed that early prediction of Parkinson’s could be valuable in finding treatments that would slow or stop the disease by protecting dopamine-producing brain cells, researchers said.
“We cannot regrow our brain cells and therefore we need to protect those that we have,” Mills said in a university news release. “At present, we are shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted and we need to start experimental treatments before patients develop symptoms.”
Treating Parkinson’s with AI
For the study, researchers trained an AI program to recognize Parkinson’s using eight blood-based biomarkers.
The AI could diagnose Parkinson’s with 100 percent accuracy, researchers found, They then tested the program’s ability to predict whether a person would go on to develop Parkinson’s later in their lives.
Researchers had the AI analyze blood from 72 patients with Rapid Eye Movement Behavior Disorder. The disorder causes people to physically act out their dreams without knowing about it or remembering it.
About 75 percent to 80 percent of people with this disorder will go on to develop either Parkinson’s or a brain disorder similar to it, researchers said.
The AI found that 79 percent of the patients had the same blood profile as someone with Parkinson’s, results show.
Over 10 years’ follow-up, 16 of the people predicted for Parkinson’s went on to develop the disorder, researchers said.
The new study was published June 18 in the journal Nature Communications.
The team is continuing to follow the rest of the group, to see how many others wind up with Parkinson’s.
“By determining eight proteins in the blood, we can identify potential Parkinson’s patients several years in advance. This means that drug therapies could potentially be given at an earlier stage, which could possibly slow down disease progression or even prevent it from occurring,” said lead researcher Dr. Michael Bartl, a neurologist with University Medical Center Goettingen in Germany.
“We have not only developed a test, but can diagnose the disease based on markers that are directly linked to processes such as inflammation and degradation of non-functional proteins,” Bartl added. “So these markers represent possible targets for new drug treatments.”
How does Parkinson’s affect Black Americans?
Parkinson’s disease (PD) can affect Black Americans differently. While research is ongoing, some studies suggest a lower prevalence of diagnosed PD in Black communities. This disparity might be due to factors like unconscious bias in healthcare, where symptoms like facial masking (reduced facial expression) might be misinterpreted.
A more concerning issue is delayed diagnosis. Black patients often receive a diagnosis later in the disease progression compared to white patients. This delay can be attributed to historical healthcare distrust and limited access to specialists. Later diagnosis translates to a missed window for early intervention, potentially worsening the impact of PD on daily life.
More information
The National Institute on Aging has more about Parkinson’s disease.
SOURCE: University College London, news release, June 18, 2024