A new study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and Oslo University Hospital in Norway may have discovered a way to detect biomarkers Parkinson’s disease It has been present in the blood for decades.

In the early stages of the disease, the body undergoes changes related to DNA repair and cellular stress. These changes leave detectable clues in the blood before major changes occur brain damage That’s what happened, according to the study’s press release.

This can help detect Parkinson’s disease early, when treatment may have a better chance of slowing or preventing serious damage.

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Researchers say DNA repair and cellular stress response processes in Parkinson’s disease patients may continue for up to 20 years before motor symptoms fully develop.

The team used machine learning to discover patterns related to these processes, which healthy individuals or patients who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

European researchers have discovered a way to detect early-stage Parkinson’s disease with a blood test. (iStock)

Annikka Polster, assistant professor in the Department of Life Sciences at Chalmers University of Technology, who led the study, said in a statement that the study found an “important window of opportunity” to detect the disease “before the onset of motor symptoms caused by nerve damage in the brain.”

“The fact that these patterns appear only in early stages and are no longer activated as the disease progresses further also makes it interesting to focus on these mechanisms to discover new ones. future treatments,” she added.

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Polster confirmed Research Biomarkers that “may reflect some of the early biology of the disease” are highlighted, which “pave the way for widespread screening testing via blood samples: a cost-effective, easily accessible approach.”

The findings were published in the journal npj Parkinson’s Disease.

Blood tests for early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease may become more common, researchers predict. (iStock)

The researchers plan to further develop tools to more easily detect these active mechanisms and understand how they work, the university said.

The research team predicts that within five years, blood tests for early Parkinson’s diagnosis may become more common in clinical practice. They are also optimistic about future development new medicine To prevent or treat disease.

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“If we can study the mechanisms by which they occur, it could provide important keys to understanding how to stop them and which drugs might be effective,” Polster said.

“That could involve new drugs, or it could involve repurposing drugs where we could use drugs developed for diseases other than Parkinson’s because the same gene activity or mechanism is active.”

It is estimated that more than 10 million people worldwide have Parkinson’s disease. (iStock)

Research limitations

The researchers acknowledged that the study had some limitations, including that gene activity measured in the blood only partially matched what was happening in the brain.

They added that external factors such as medication use may have affected the results.

Additionally, the study population may not be representative of everyone, so the findings may not be broadly applicable.

From a numerical perspective

According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, more than 10 million people worldwide are estimated to have Parkinson’s disease. Approximately 90,000 people are diagnosed in the United States each year.

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As Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, numbers are expected to continue to rise After Alzheimer’s.

Although research is progressing, there is currently no cure for the disease, although medications are available to control symptoms.

Common motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include tremors, slow movement, muscle stiffness, and difficulty with balance and walking. (iStock)

Common motor symptoms include tremor, slow movement, muscle stiffness, difficulty with balance and walking, a shuffling gait, and episodes of stiffness.

Non-motor symptoms include loss of smell, sleep problemsConstipation, fatigue, depression or anxiety, changes in speech and swallowing, slowed cognition and reduced facial expressions, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation and Mayo Clinic.

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Danish Anwer, a PhD student at Chalmers University of Technology’s Department of Life Sciences and first author of the study, detailed how Parkinson’s affects the brain in a statement.

“By the time motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease develop, 50 to 80 percent of the relevant brain cells are typically damaged or gone,” he said. “This research is an important step toward promoting early identification of the disease and halting its progression before it gets to this point.”

“By the time you have actual motor symptoms…most of the affected cells have already been damaged and destroyed.”

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Mark Siegel also believes that Parkinson’s disease is a “very difficult disease” with an increasing global impact.

“When you have actual motor symptoms that affect gait, tremor, etc., the vast majority of affected cells It was damaged and destroyed,” he told Fox Digital News.

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Siegel called the new research “exciting” and said it “opens the door to earlier, more effective diagnosis and treatment.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the study authors for comment.