alpha - synuclein in Parkinson's disease (PD)

Last edited 04/2023 and last reviewed 04/2023

Alpha-Synuclein in Parkinson's disease

• alpha Synuclein is a presynaptic neuronal protein that is linked genetically and neuropathologically to Parkinson's disease (PD)
  
  
• deposition of alpha Synuclein and neuronal injury occur many years before the canonical motor signs emerges
  
  
• evidence shows that alpha - synuclein seed amplification assays (SAAs) have the potential to differentiate people with PD from healthy controls
  • results show that the assay classifies people with Parkinson's disease with high sensitivity and specificity (3)

Reference:

• Stefanis L. alpha-Synuclein in Parkinson's disease. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2012 Feb;2(2):a009399. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a009399. PMID: 22355802; PMCID: PMC3281589.
• Russo MJ et al.High diagnostic performance of independent alpha-synuclein seed amplification assays for detection of early Parkinson's disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2021 Nov 6;9(1):179. doi: 10.1186/s40478-021-01282-8
• Siderowf A et al. Assessment of heterogeneity among participants in the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative cohort using alpha-synuclein seed amplification: a cross-sectional study. Lancet Neurology May 2023