A research team from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, along with Oslo University Hospital in Norway, has identified blood biomarkers that could enable the early detection of Parkinson's disease. The findings were published in npj Parkinson's Disease and point to a possible method for diagnosing the condition before significant brain damage occurs.
Parkinson’s disease affects over 10 million people worldwide. With an aging global population, this number is expected to more than double by 2050. Currently, there are no effective cures or established screening methods for detecting Parkinson’s at an early stage.
The study focused on two biological processes thought to be involved in the earliest phase of the disease: DNA damage repair and cellular stress response. These processes can last up to 20 years before motor symptoms develop in patients. Using machine learning and other techniques, researchers found a distinct pattern of gene activity linked to these mechanisms in patients at an early stage of Parkinson’s. This pattern was not observed in healthy individuals or those who had already developed symptoms.
"This means that we have found an important window of opportunity in which the disease can be detected before motor symptoms caused by nerve damage in the brain appear. The fact that these patterns only show at an early stage and are no longer activated when the disease has progressed further also makes it interesting to focus on the mechanisms to find future treatments," said Annikka Polster, Assistant Professor at the Department of Life Sciences at Chalmers and lead author of the study.
Researchers noted that while other potential indicators—such as those obtained through brain imaging or analysis of brain fluids—have been studied globally, no validated test exists for widespread screening prior to symptom onset.
"In our study, we highlighted biomarkers that likely reflect some of the early biology of the disease and showed they can be measured in blood. This paves the way for broad screening tests via blood samples: a cost-effective, easily accessible method," said Polster.
The next steps will involve further understanding how these early-stage mechanisms work and developing tools for easier detection. The team believes that within five years, healthcare providers could begin testing blood-based diagnostics for early Parkinson's detection. Long-term hopes include using this research to aid drug development efforts aimed at preventing or treating Parkinson’s.
"If we can study the mechanisms as they happen, it could provide important keys to understanding how they can be stopped and which drugs might be effective. This may involve new drugs, but also drug repurposing, where we can use drugs developed for diseases other than Parkinson's because the same gene activities or mechanisms are active," Polster added.
