The January 2024 edition of The Lancet Neurology reported on a significant advance into the new biological era of Parkinson’s disease made by an international team of research, patient and industry leaders. This team proposed the very first iteration of a research framework designed to stage and define Parkinson’s based on the underlying biology of the disease.
Use of Biomarkers
After nearly 200 years of relying on outward and mainly movement-based symptoms for the detection of Parkinson’s, the new research tool discussed in The Lancet Neurology uses biomarkers that can detect the disease objectively in the body. This new biological framework for Parkinson’s will likely have an immediate impact on research by speeding up clinical trials and boosting the success of scientific discovery.
The framework includes a system for staging the disease, accounting for Parkinson’s diagnosis, risk and functional impairment using a scale ranging from slight to severe. These stages are premised on an individual’s biological profile.
Molecular Hallmark
The formation of toxic masses of the alpha-synuclein protein inside the nervous system is one of the molecular hallmarks of Parkinson’s. Clumps of these proteins in one part of the brain can cause more clumps to appear in neighboring areas. Due to the research discussed above, the alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay test has been developed that can detect the disease with high levels of accuracy. With development and scaling, the implications of this discovery are likely to be enormous, potentially bringing about huge changes in all aspects of Parkinson’s research and care.
The Work of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) led the international study that carried out the research resulting in these exciting developments. The foundation, of which Professor of Neurology Marios Politis is a long-time collaborator, is committed to discovering a cure for Parkinson’s via research. Although the organisation works to fund and facilitate research to this end, its focus is on ways to make a difference to patient’s lives right now.
MJFF shares the risk regarding drug development with industry researchers and academics to ensure innovations continue to flow through the pipeline. It awards grants in the areas of Target Validation, Clinical Intervention, Rapid Response Innovations and Therapeutics Development. Although working primarily across the United States, the foundation funds, supports and facilitates events all over the world in a bid to address the challenges faced by Parkinson’s disease patients every day.
