New Brain Disease Test for Parkinson's, Dementia With Lewy Bodies

A study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published in Acta Neuropathologica Communications detailed how they have modified an assay for early diagnosis of prion diseases to offer the possibility of enhancing early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers tested 60 cerebral spinal fluid samples, including 12 from people with Parkinson's disease, 17 from those with dementia with Lewy bodies, and 31 controls, including 16 of whom had Alzheimer's disease. The procedure correctly excluded all the controls and diagnosed both Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies with 93 percent accuracy. Test results were available within two days, versus related assays requiring up to 13 days. The team performed the tests using Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC), an assay developed and refined over the past 10 years at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Rocky Mountain Laboratories. The team is continuing to adapt the RT-QuIC assay to identify additional types of neurological diseases with more accuracy using the least invasive patient sample possible. They also have trained many international colleagues to use and advance the assay.