New blood test could transform Parkinson’s diagnosis

A new blood test which could pave the way for earlier diagnosis of  Parkinson’s has been developed.

Neuroscientists have progressed a diagnostic blood test which is based on recognition of the prominent role mitochondrial dysfunction plays in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s.

The resultant assay enables the accurate, real-time quantification of mitochondrial DNA damage in a scalable platform.

The study was led by Duke School of Medicine and supported in part by The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Senior author Laurie Sanders said: “Currently, Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed largely based on clinical symptoms after significant neurological damage has already occurred.

“A simple blood test would allow us to diagnose the disease earlier and start therapies sooner. Additionally, a clear-cut diagnosis would accurately identify patients who could participate in drug studies, leading to the development of better treatments and potentially even cures.”

As a biomarker for their diagnostic tool, Sanders and colleagues focused on DNA damage in the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cells, taking raw energy and converting it to cellular energy that can be used by the cells for function, growth and repair.

They contain their own DNA (mtDNA), which can incur damage separately from the nuclear DNA which is found in the cell’s nucleus and that encodes most of an organism’s genome.

Earlier studies have associated mitochondrial DNA damage with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, and the Duke-led team had previously reported an accumulation of mitochondrial DNA damage specifically in the brain tissue of deceased Parkinson’s patients.

Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology, the researchers developed an assay that successfully quantified higher levels of mitochondrial DNA damage in blood cells collected from patients with Parkinson’s disease compared with people without the disease.

The new test also identified high levels of the damaged DNA in the blood samples of people who harbor the genetic mutation LRRK2, which has been associated with an increased risk of the disease. The assay was able to detect Parkinson’s disease patients with and without LRRK2 mutations.

A further analysis in cells from patients with Parkinson’s disease explored whether the team’s PCR-based test could determine the impact of a therapy targeting the effects associated with LRRK2 mutation.

In these samples, the test identified lower mitochondrial DNA damage in cells treated with a LRRK2 inhibitor compared to samples from patients who did not receive the inhibitor.

This suggests the assay could help pinpoint Parkinson’s disease patients who might benefit from LRRK2 kinase inhibitor treatments, even if they do not have the LRRK2 mutation.

“Our hope is that this assay could not only diagnose Parkinson’s disease, but also identify drugs that reverse or halt mitochondrial DNA damage and the disease process,” Sanders said.

“This disease takes a terrible toll on people, and we are still just treating the symptoms. It’s important to get new, effective treatments over the finish line.”

Sanders said the research team’s future will include further testing of the assay in samples from patients with the earliest stages of disease, before symptoms develop.