{"id":616914,"date":"2024-06-18T11:06:35","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T15:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/could-a-blood-test-predict-parkinsons-years-before-symptoms-drugs-com-mednews\/"},"modified":"2024-06-18T21:37:06","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T01:37:06","slug":"could-a-blood-test-predict-parkinsons-years-before-symptoms-drugs-com-mednews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/could-a-blood-test-predict-parkinsons-years-before-symptoms-drugs-com-mednews\/","title":{"rendered":"Could a Blood Test Predict Parkinson’s Years Before Symptoms? – Drugs.com MedNews","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

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Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm<\/a>. Last updated on June 18, 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter<\/p>\n

TUESDAY, June 18, 2024 — A new blood test might be able to predict Parkinson\u2019s disease up to seven years before symptoms of the movement disorder surface, researchers said.<\/p>\n

The test correctly predicted a high risk of Parkinson\u2019s<\/a> in 16 patients who went on to develop the disease, results show.<\/p>\n

If validated, the test could help provide early treatment that might blunt or even block the onset of Parkinson\u2019s, researchers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs new therapies become available to treat Parkinson\u2019s, we need to diagnose patients before they have developed the symptoms,\u201d said senior researcher Kevin Mills<\/a>, a professor with University College London.<\/p>\n

Parkinson\u2019s is caused by the death of nerve cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra, which controls movement.<\/p>\n

These nerve cells produce an important hormone called dopamine. As a person\u2019s dopamine levels decline, they develop symptoms like tremors, slowness of movement and gait and memory problems, researchers said.<\/p>\n

Currently, people with Parkinson\u2019s are treated with dopamine replacement therapy once they\u2019ve developed symptoms.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s believed that early prediction of Parkinson\u2019s could be valuable in finding treatments that would slow or stop the disease by protecting dopamine-producing brain cells, researchers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot regrow our brain cells and therefore we need to protect those that we have,\u201d Mills said in a university news release. \u201cAt present, we are shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted and we need to start experimental treatments before patients develop symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the study, researchers trained an AI program to recognize Parkinson\u2019s using eight blood-based biomarkers.<\/p>\n

The AI could diagnose Parkinson\u2019s with 100% accuracy, researchers found, They then tested the program\u2019s ability to predict whether a person would go on to develop Parkinson\u2019s later in their lives.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

About 75% to 80% of people with this disorder will go on to develop either Parkinson\u2019s or a brain disorder similar to it, researchers said.<\/p>\n

The AI found that 79% of the patients had the same blood profile as someone with Parkinson\u2019s, results show.<\/p>\n

Over 10 years\u2019 follow-up, 16 of the people predicted for Parkinson\u2019s went on to develop the disorder, researchers said.<\/p>\n

The new study was published June 18 in the journal Nature Communications<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The team is continuing to follow the rest of the group, to see how many others wind up with Parkinson\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy 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,\u201d said lead researcher Dr. Michael Bartl<\/a>, a neurologist with University Medical Center Goettingen in Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d Bartl added. \u201cSo these markers represent possible targets for new drug treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n

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