A New Method for Early Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease Has Been Developed in Israel

In a recent study published in the scientific journal Acta Neuropathologica, researchers discovered a new method for the early detection of Parkinson's disease. It allows tracking the initial stages of accumulation in the brain of specific proteins closely associated with the onset and development of this neurodegenerative disease and considered its biological marker.

Parkinson's disease is an incurable progressive neurological disorder, the main symptoms of which include hand tremors, rigidity of movements, slowed speech, digestive disturbances, deterioration or loss of smell, depressive states, and sleep problems. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 10 million people worldwide suffer from it.

The main problem is that by the time of diagnosis, up to 80% of the cells in the so-called substantia nigra of the midbrain, responsible for dopamine production, are already dead, and pathological processes in the brain have passed the point of no return. This occurs due to the toxic effects of alpha-synuclein protein aggregates. For a while, the brain can compensate for the loss of neurons, but when they are no longer present, unpleasant symptoms appear. Early detection of signs of Parkinson's disease could make its treatment more effective.

“We have developed a new way to track the early stages of pathological accumulation of alpha-synuclein using a super-resolution microscope and advanced data analysis,” says one of the authors of the study, Professor Uri Ashri, head of the School of Neurology at Tel Aviv University. “With its help, we can detect the smallest traces of protein deposits in the patient's brain that indicate the development of the disease.”

“Together with our partners from the University of Cambridge, who developed and created a special mouse model of Parkinson's disease, we were able to trace different stages of accumulation of pathological protein molecules in nerve cells,” continues the professor. “We observed a correlation between the formation of protein aggregates and the gradual decrease in neuronal activity in the brain and behavioral disturbances in mice. This is a landmark breakthrough in the study of Parkinson's disease.”

Monitoring Treatment Effectiveness

Professor Ashri's colleague and co-author of the study, neurobiologist Dana Bar-On, noted that their newly discovered method of early diagnosis can also be used to track the effects of medications on the accumulation of pathological proteins. Researchers from the Max Planck Society and the University of Munich, who also participated in the experiment, were able to illustrate the impact of a special drug – anle138b – on the molecules of the toxic protein and the alleviation of symptoms after its administration in mice with Parkinson's disease.

“We hope that the method we have discovered will soon be used for the early diagnosis of parkinsonism,” says Dr. Bar-On. “We are currently working on its implementation and will try to make it minimally invasive.”

Considering that heredity plays a significant role in Parkinson's disease, researchers plan to expand their study to include family members of patients with this diagnosis. “By detecting accumulations of specific molecules using minimally invasive methods in relatives of people with neurodegenerative diseases, we can identify signs of pathology at early stages of development and take timely measures by prescribing treatment even before symptoms appear,” explains Professor Ashri.

Previously, he led several other advanced studies related to neurological disorders. In 2013, the professor and his team discovered microRNA that negatively affects the regulation of protein levels in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease. Four years later, a study conducted under his leadership proved that treatment with hyperbaric oxygenation can alleviate symptoms in people with this diagnosis.