YEAR ONE OF THE NEW BIOMARKER
THE MICHAEL J . FOX FOUNDATION 2024 YEAR IN REVIEW this year , investigators affiliated with the landmark Alzheimer ’ s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative ( ADNI ) conducted aSyn-SAA testing in samples from ADNI participants with mild cognitive impairment or dementia . They reported that a stunning 30 to 40 percent of these individuals tested positive on the aSyn-SAA .
This finding will lead to strategies to ensure that clinical trials do not inadvertently test a Parkinson ’ s therapy in people with Alzheimer ’ s biology , or vice versa . The discovery also lays the
PPMI Expands Again to Get More Answers
Throughout its history , MJFF ’ s Parkinson ’ s Progression Markers Initiative ( PPMI ) has repeatedly changed in response to the evolving state of research and drug development . The study is widely heralded as the field ’ s most important resource , having amassed richly characterized data sets and pristine biological samples contributed by participants at every stage of the Parkinson ’ s continuum . With the new biomarker ’ s ability to detect abnormal alpha-synuclein in people with Parkinson ’ s and people at risk for PD , aSyn-SAA is generating new questions to be investigated through PPMI , including :
How early does Parkinson ’ s biology develop ? At-risk volunteers in PPMI were more likely to show positive aSyn-SAA than unaffected control volunteers . Can positive aSyn-SAA be detected in even younger at-risk people ? Can Parkinson ’ s biology be detected prior to brain scan changes ?
Which at-risk individuals are more likely to develop memory and thinking problems ? The biological staging system relates to both Parkinson ’ s and
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