[Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for the early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease]

Acta Med Port. 2011 Dec:24 Suppl 4:761-8. Epub 2011 Dec 31.
[Article in Portuguese]

Abstract

In current medical practice, the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease remains essentially clinical. This practice determines that the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is done in an already advanced neuropathological stage of the disease. The aim of this study is to review the validity of cerebrospinal fluid protein biological markers in the early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. The a-synuclein and DJ-1 proteins, due to their role in the hereditary Parkinson's disease, have been the most widely studied cerebrospinal biomarkers. Nevertheless, they have had divergent results mostly owing to different processing, identification and control of laboratory techniques. The new proteomic techniques, directed to the detection of multiple undifferentiated proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (eg. ceruloplasmin, chromogranin B, apoH), are promising. The early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is imperious as it is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that causes extensive morbidity. Most of current scientific research in Parkinson's disease is focused on the discovery of neuroprotective drugs. Thus, the definition of biomarkers for the early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is highly relevant.

Publication types

  • English Abstract
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Early Diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Parkinson Disease / cerebrospinal fluid*
  • Parkinson Disease / diagnosis*

Substances

  • Biomarkers