Michael J. Fox Foundation Announces New Research Initiative for Pharmacodynamic (PD) Biomarker
Like many other diseases such as Lyme disease, there is no current, easily measured bio-marker for Parkinson’s. Without such a marker it is difficult to monitor the disease over time, and more importantly to measure if a possible treatment is being effective. In fact, such a marker could also help confirm the diagnoses to begin with so that therapy could begin earlier and so that another disease is not overlooked.
“Currently, there is no definitive, objective biomarker or test to diagnose PD and follow its progression in a living individual. A PD biomarker — a substance or characteristic in the body associated with disease presence or that changes over time in a way that can be linked to progression — would revolutionize not only clinical care but also research.”
A protein called alpha-synuclein, is where this research will begin, but how to measure it, in what kind of tissue or body fluid, and how to sample it, as well as developing an understanding of what protein levels means are important issues.
