Recent research indicates that microRNAs may be a potential biomarker to diagnose and judge a Parkinson’s patient’s prognosis. A study titled “Deep sequencing of sncRNAs reveals hallmarks and regulatory modules of the transcriptome during Parkinson’s disease progression” focused on various microRNAs in the blood and found that they differ in Parkinson’s patients when compared to healthy controls. While further research is necessary, this information could be very helpful in Parkinson’s diagnosis and treatment.

About Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that affects the central nervous system (CNS). It is characterized by its effect on movement through five different stages. As the disease progresses, severity increases. Stage one is characterized by subtle tremors on one side of the body. In stage two symptoms are more noticeable, with tremors and rigidity on both sides of the body. Stage three brings loss of balance and slowed movement. Stage four makes it impossible for one to live independently. Stage five is the most severe, as patients cannot stand or walk. Hallucinations and delusions are common symptoms of this stage.

Parkinson’s disease occurs due to the death of motor neurons, some of which produce dopamine. Dopamine is important in the transmittance of messages to the muscles from the brain, so the loss of dopamine results in the loss of motor functions. Abnormal brain activity occurs when these neurons are lost. Doctors do not know why these motor neurons die, but they do suspect a few factors that play a role, such as genetics, environmental factors like toxins, and Lewy bodies.

About the Study

Previous research demonstrated that microRNAs could serve as biomarkers in Alzheimer’s and forms of lung cancer, which pushed a team of researchers from Saarland University in Germany to investigate their connection to Parkinson’s. In collaboration with researchers throughout the United States, scientists were able to analyze 5,450 blood samples from 1,614 participants of the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative.

These samples came from both healthy participants and Parkinson’s disease patients. Researchers separated the microRNAs from any blood cells in order to sequence and analyze them through artificial intelligence. When comparing the control group to Parkinson’s patients, five types of microRNAs faced different production. There was a trend towards downregulation.

Looking specifically at samples taken from non-familial cases of Parkinson’s, 24 microRNAs were downregulated while only two were upregulated. This information points towards microRNAs playing a larger role in sporadic rather than genetic causes.

The next step in the research process was to understand microRNAs role in disease progression. In order to do so, participants completed four follow-ups. The trend of downregulation continued throughout the visits, and these microRNAs were found in red blood cells. If upregulated cells were found, it was in blood serum and neutrophils.

This data suggests that microRNAs hold great potential as biomarkers, and medical professionals also noted that the trends observed correlated to age in some ways. They found that patients were most likely to see changes in downregulated microRNAs at two ages: 30s and late 60s.

Validating the Findings

Researchers utilized another group of healthy controls and Parkinson’s patients from the Luxembourg Parkinson’s Study (NCER-PD). 988 donors, all of whom had visited the clinic up to four times, gave a total of 1,440 samples.

They noticed the same trends in both studies, pointing to the validity of the results. There were “two clear diagnostic patterns.” The researchers also noted that microRNAs with the most significant downregulation were found in the mitochondria, suggesting that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in Parkinson’s.

Testing these biomarkers’ ability to predict prognosis, researchers analyzed their connection to the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale’s functional assessments. They found that 71 of the possible biomarkers upregulate in progressing Parkinson’s but downregulate in those with stable disease. On the other hand, 71 others were observed to do the opposite.

This data is very supportive of microRNAs as a biomarker for Parkinson’s disease. While more research must be conducted, these trends provide a good starting place for further studies.

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