Sowing the seeds of diagnosis: a novel assay for abnormal α-synuclein detection
A new study has developed an assay that can identify incorrectly folded α-synuclein, a biomarker of synucleinopathies, in patient serum.
Synucleinopathies are neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), that are characterized by the accumulation of incorrectly folded α-synuclein, a protein abundant in the brain. Previously, definitive detection of α-synuclein in patient serum samples has been unreliable. Now, researchers from Juntendo University (Tokyo, Japan) and Nagasaki University (Japan) have developed a novel assay that can not only reliably detect α-synuclein aggregates, but also differentiate between neurodegenerative diseases based on the type of α-synuclein aggregates present.
