Biomarkers for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease

Tiago Outeiro, PhD, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany, discusses the use of biomarkers as diagnostic tools for Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD diagnosis often comes quite late; earlier diagnosis is believed to increase the chance of successful therapeutic intervention. Traditional genetic testing is one of the technologies available, alongside neuroimaging to detect structural and functional alterations in the brain and to measure neurodegeneration. Dopamine transporter (DAT) SPECT imaging provides an objective tool for the assessment of dopaminergic function which is valuable for the differential diagnosis of parkinsonian disorders. However, this technology doesn’t have 100% specificity; there are cases where patients with symptoms of PD are not flagged by these tests. Meanwhile, there have been recent advancements in the use of biochemical markers in diagnosing PD. α-synuclein has been known for a long time to play a part in PD, and a new assay, the seed amplification assay, can detect aggregation of this protein. This interview took place at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Annual Meeting 2024 in Helsinki, Finland.
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