Early Parkinson’s Detection: Blood Test Shows Promise
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have identified biological markers in blood that appear in the earliest stages of Parkinson’s disease, potentially years before noticeable symptoms emerge. The findings offer a critical opportunity for earlier diagnosis and treatment, while the brain remains largely intact, and could lead to clinical testing of blood tests within five years.
Parkinson’s disease currently affects more than 10 million people globally and is considered an endemic condition. With aging populations, the number of cases is projected to more than double by 2050. Currently,ther is no cure and no widely used screening method exists to detect the disease before significant,often irreversible,brain damage occurs.
Identifying Early Changes
The research, published in npj Parkinson’s Disease, was conducted by a team from Chalmers University of Technology and Oslo University Hospital in Norway. The study represents significant progress in identifying Parkinson’s during its earliest phase, before the onset of classic motor symptoms.
“By the time the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear, 50-80 percent of the relevant brain cells are often already damaged or gone,” says Danish Anwer, a doctoral student at Chalmers’ Department of Life Sciences and the study’s first author. “this study is an critically important step towards facilitating early identification of the disease and counteracting its progression before it has gone this far.”
A Prolonged Early Phase
Parkinson’s disease develops slowly, with an early phase lasting up to 20 years before motor symptoms fully manifest. During this period, changes are already occurring within cells.
The researchers focused on two key biological processes: DNA damage repair, the cellular system for detecting and fixing genetic damage, and the cellular stress response, a protective reaction that prioritizes repair and defense.
Machine learning techniques were used to reveal a unique pattern in the blood related to these processes,indicating the presence of the disease in its earliest stages.