Parkinson’s disease diagnosis: Parkinson’s disease (Parkinson’s disease) Will now be identified 15 years in advance.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a new way to detect protein clumps in cells that can detect the disease about 15 years before symptoms appear.
This opens up possibilities for timely treatment and this incurable disease can be prevented. This research was led by Prof. Uri Asheri and PhD student Ofir Saade, which included collaboration with researchers from Israeli medical centers, Germany and the United States.
“We hope that in the coming years it will be possible to develop treatment options for family members of Parkinson’s patients who are at risk of developing the disease,” Asheri said.
1,200 new cases are identified every year
The researchers used super-resolution microscopy to study cells from Parkinson’s patients, which were obtained not from their brain, but from their skin.
Parkinson’s disease is a brain condition that causes painful muscle contractions, tremors, and difficulty speaking. According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of the disease has doubled in the last 25 years, and approximately 8.5 million people worldwide suffer from it.
In Israel, 1,200 new cases are identified each year. The root cause of Parkinson’s disease is the destruction of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra area of the midbrain.
By the time symptoms of the disease appear, 50 to 80 percent of the dopaminergic neurons have already died. That is why, at present, the possibilities of its treatment are limited. With this new technology, researchers hope that by detecting the disease early, they will be able to work on possible treatments, which will help in overcoming the challenge of Parkinson’s disease.
