Parkinson’s vs multiple system atrophy: could new technology distinguish between the two?

Written by Sharon Salt, Senior Editor

Distinguishing between multiple system atrophy and Parkinson’s has been extremely challenging given the similarities with early symptoms (e.g., disturbances in movement, tremors, uncontrollable movements during sleep, impaired speech and more). However, the progression of both diseases is different and usually requires distinct treatment plans. A recently published study in Nature has reported that a new technology, known as protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), is able to distinguish between these two progressive neurodegenerative diseases. To develop a sensitive biochemical diagnosis for Parkinson’s, researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth; TX, USA) used PMCA technology to target misfolded α-synuclein...

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