A new blood test might be able to predict who will get Parkinson’s disease The test uses AI to assess eight different markers in the blood It successfully predicted 16 people who wound up with Parkinson’s TUESDAY, June 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A new blood test might be able to predict Parkinson’s disease up to seven years before symptoms of the movement disorder surface, researchers said. The test correctly predicted a high risk of in 16 patients who went on to develop the disease, results show. If validated, the test could help provide early treatment that might blunt or even block the onset of Parkinson’s, researchers said.
“As new therapies become available to treat Parkinson’s, we need to diagnose patients before they have developed the symptoms,” said senior researcher , a professor with University College London. Parkinson’s is caused by the death of nerve cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra, which controls movement. These nerve cells produce an important hormone called dopamine.
As a person’s dopamine levels decline, they develop symptoms like tremors, slowness of movement and gait and memory problems, researchers said. Currently, people with Parkinson’s are treated with dopamine replacement therapy once they’ve developed symptoms. It’s believed that early prediction of Parkinson’s could be valuable in finding treatments that would slow or stop the disease by protecting dopamine-producing brain cells, researchers said.
.
