A lab test that can tell doctors if someone has Parkinson's disease is a long-sought goal of researchers. There are new tests that are able to detect traces of a key protein that misfolds and gums up specific areas of the brain.
A lab test that can tell doctors if someone has Parkinson’s disease is a long-sought goal of researchers. Doctors currently diagnose the progressive condition by looking for telltale physical symptoms: tremors, a halting gait, stiffness or trouble balancing. About 90,000 Americans are diagnosed on the basis of these symptoms each year, according to a recent study.
“This is a big step forward showing that this type of test is accurate.” The test was most accurate in people without any known genetic risks for Parkinson’s disease, who also had loss of their sense of smell. In this group, the test correctly detected the disease 99% of the time. If they didn’t have a loss of smell, the accuracy dropped to 78%. In people with the most common genetic risk, a mutation in their LRRK2 gene, the test correctly flagged Parkinson’s only about 67% of the time.
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