RESEARCH
THE MICHAEL J . FOX FOUNDATION 2023 YEAR IN REVIEW
The New Parkinson ’ s Biomarker : What ’ s Next ?
Since its earliest days , MJFF has aggressively funded biomarker development , recognizing the central role of these critical tools in designing more targeted drug trials , developing better treatments and eventually preventing the disease altogether .
The validation of the aSyn-SAA biomarker was built on these years of research — in the end , coming together in a matter of months .
SAA methods were used in the early 2000s to find proteins linked to diseases like Alzheimer ’ s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease . MJFF staff scientists wondered whether the approach could be applied to alpha-synuclein , the protein that misfolds in Parkinson ’ s . They called researchers working on this technology in other diseases at the University of Texas and asked if they would try the method in Parkinson ’ s . MJFF provided funding for the research along with cerebrospinal fluid samples donated by participants in the Parkinson ’ s Progression Markers Initiative ( PPMI ).
After showing initial promise in small studies , aSyn-SAA was validated in the PPMI samples , and the results were astonishing . The assay confirmed the presence of abnormal alpha-synuclein with stunning accuracy : 93 percent of people with Parkinson ’ s were proven to have abnormal alpha-synuclein .
Further , working in PPMI samples donated by volunteers not yet diagnosed with Parkinson ’ s ( but exhibiting risk factors including significant loss of smell ), the tool showed that it could detect pathology in spinal fluid of at-risk individuals . This lays a critical cornerstone for earlier intervention and , ultimately , prevention of Parkinson ’ s .
aSyn-SAA is already proving to be transformative for research , informing and shaping better and faster trials . ( Read more on the impact on clinical trials on p . 16 ).
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