(NewsNation) — Researchers have developed a new blood test that can predict Parkinson’s disease up to seven years before symptoms appear.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative movement disorder that can cause symptoms such as tremors or changes in speech. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disease estimated to affect about one million Americans.
Researchers at University College London and University Medical Center Göttingen in Germany developed the new AI-based blood test.
Published in Research Magazine Nature Communications, the study focused on 72 patients with rapid eye movement behavioral disorder, which has been linked to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
The search applied machine learning techniques to analyze blood samples and found that 79% of participants exhibited the same biomarkers commonly found in people with Parkinson’s disease. After a decade-long follow-up period, 16 of the patients developed Parkinson’s disease.
The researchers used plasma proteomics, the study of proteins in the liquid part of the blood called plasma, to identify biomarkers.
Co-first author Michael Bartl said in a press release that by identifying Parkinson’s disease earlier, progression can be slowed or even prevented.
“By determining eight proteins in the blood, we could identify potential Parkinson’s patients several years in advance. Drug therapies could be administered at an earlier stage,” Bartl said in the statement.
David Dexter, director of research at Parkinson’s UK, said in a statement that this research is a big step in the search for a more patient-friendly diagnostic test for the disease.
“Finding biological markers that can be identified and measured in the blood is less invasive than a lumbar puncture, which is increasingly being used in clinical research to test new treatments in people with Parkinson’s,” said Dexter.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
