Objective: To evaluate the serum levels of α-synuclein (α-syn) and Amyloid β 1-42 (Aβ1-42) in the patients of Parkinson’s disease (PD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and multiple system atrophy (MSA).

Background: Parkinson’s disease PD is a progressive neurodegenerative/movement disorder. The diagnosis of PD is incorrect many times and requires careful evaluation. Parkinsonian plus syndromes are most common mimickers of PD. Prominent parkinsonian plus syndromes are progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy. Hence, research to find potential biomarkers for Parkinson disease and its variants for diagnosis, differential diagnosis and monitoring disease progression is continuously evolving. Against this background, we wanted to measure α-syn and Aβ1-42, which were earlier shown to have toxic actions leading to neurodegeneration.

Method: This is a tertiary hospital based prospective study from northern India. All procedures performed in the patients were approved by the institute’s ethical committee in accordance with the ethical standards proposed by the Helsinki declaration. All patients gave written informed consent. UK PDS Brain Bank criteria for the diagnosis of PD were applied to select the patients. PSP diagnosis was carried out according to the criteria of NINDS-SPSP and the diagnosis of MSA was made according to the second consensus statement. Blood samples were collected from patients with PD (n=21), PSP (n=9), MSA (n=10) and healthy controls (n=36) during routine examinations. Serum levels of α-syn and Aβ 1-42 were determined by ELISA.

Results: Serum levels of α-syn were significantly elevated (p<0.001) in PD, PSP and MSA patients vs. controls, whereas, Aβ 1-42 levels in the disease cohorts were not significantly different fromthe control levels.

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Conclusion: Detection of specific protein or metabolite in human blood has great promise to facilitate early and accurate diagnoses of these devastating neurological diseases. Oligomeric alpha-synuclein variants are found present in the PD sera, CSF and brain tissue. Oligomeric beta-amyloid variants were demonstrated in the Alzheimer’s disease sera, CSF and brain tissue. α-syn homeostasis may be impaired early on, possibly due to the disturbance of the proteostasis network. Misfolding of α-syn protein results in toxic aggregates. These can cause futher deleterious events by compromising cellular functions.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/alpha-synuclein-and-amyloid-beta-peptide-1-42-in-parkinsons-disease-and-parkinsonian-plus-syndrome-cohorts/