Detection of oligomeric forms of α‐synuclein protein in human plasma as a potential biomarker for Parkinson's disease

To date there is no accepted clinical diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease (PD) based on biochemical analysis of blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). alpha-Synuclein (alpha-syn) protein has been linked to the pathogenesis of PD with the discovery of mutations in the gene encoding alpha-syn in familial cases with early-onset PD. Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, which constitute the main pathological features in the brains of patients with sporadic PD and dementia with Lewy bodies, are formed by the conversion of soluble monomers of alpha-syn into insoluble aggregates. We recently reported the presence of alpha-syn in normal human blood plasma and in postmortem CSF. Here, we investigated whether alpha-syn can be…

• MJ
  Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
• AR
  Alzheimer's Research Trust