Parkinson's risk prediction

Colonic tissue samples taken during flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy can be used to predict whether or not a patient will develop Parkinson's disease, researchers from Rush University Medical Center reported. The scientists reported findings from two studies in Movement Disorders. As background information, the authors explain that nearly 5 million people globally are affected with Parkinson's disease. This number is set to double over the next two decades. Alpha-synuclein, a protein, collects in the cells of Parkinson's patients. Alpha-synuclein has been found to be a pathologic hallmark of Parkinson's disease. These protein aggregates form Lewy bodies, a structure typically found in the brains of patients with Parkinson's after they died (at autopsy). In a communiqué issued by Rush University, the authors wrote: "Identification of the role of alpha-synuclein aggregation in neuronal dysfunction and death has broadened understanding of how Parkinson's disease develops and introduced a valuable tool for tracking its progress." The authors have shown that alpha-synuclein is also detectable in the nerve cells that lie in the intestinal walls in their research participants with early Parkinson's - the protein is not present in healthy subjects. Dr. Kathleen M. Shannon and team collected intestinal wall samples from 10 participants with early Parkinson's - flexible sigmoidoscopy was used; a technique similar to colonoscopy in which a flexible scope is threaded into the lower intestine. No colon preparation or anesthesia are required with flexible sigmoidoscopy; the scope only goes in about 8 inches. The whole procedure takes no more than 10 minutes to complete. In an online communiqué, Rush University wrote "Now, a group of Rush scientists has become the first to demonstrate alpha-synuclein aggregation in biological tissue obtained before onset of motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease." The team analyzed colonoscopy examination samples that had occurred two to five years before Parkinson's signs and symptoms appeared in three subjects. In all three cases, alpha-synuclein aggregation had been detected in the samples taken from the wall of the lower intestine.