New and rapid assay test helps detect Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.

Multiple neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, involve the abnormal clumping of a protein called alpha-synuclein into brain deposits called Lewy bodies. The pathological processes in these diseases resemble prion diseases in mammal brains. Like prion diseases, Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies result in progressive deterioration of brain functions and, ultimately, death. Parkinson's disease is about 1,000 times more common than prion diseases, affecting up to 1 million people in the United States, with 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Lewy body dementia affects an estimated 1.4 million people in the United States, according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association.
Early and accurate diagnoses of these brain disorders are essential for developing treatments and identifying patients eligible for clinical trials. The diseases typically progress for years before symptoms appear, and once they do, distinguishing one disease from another can be difficult.
The NIAID group continues to adapt the RT-QuIC assay to detect additional types of neurological diseases with greater accuracy using the least invasive patient sample possible--whether that is blood, skin, nasal brushings, or other samples. The group also has trained many international colleagues to use and advance the test.
Source-Eurekalert