VIDEO: Skin biopsy test may help diagnose Parkinson’s, dementia
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DENVER — Nearly all study participants believed to have a synucleinopathy had the presence of alpha-synuclein in their skin samples, according to a study presented at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.
“The study looked at patients with one of four synucleinopathies, which include Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy, pure autonomic failure and dementia with Lewy bodies,” Christopher H. Gibbons, MD, co-founder of and scientific adviser to CND Life Sciences and a neurologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, said in this Healio video.
In this study, phosphorylated alpha-synuclein, which causes these disorders, was found in more than 95% of those believed to have a synucleinopathy, he said.
“When patients and physicians are struggling with a diagnosis, this test may offer a rapid way to help identify the underlying cause of this problem,” Gibbons said.