Biomarker Testing May Accelerate Synucleinopathy Diagnosis According to New CNSA White Paper

The emergence of new biomarker tests may enable earlier detection and treatment of symptoms associated with synucleinopathies according to a new comprehensive Clinical Proceedings White Paper published by the Clinical Neurological Society of America (CNSA).

The White Paper, titled “Minimizing the Devastating Impact of Synucleinopathies: The Utility of Biomarker Testing,” was developed by an expert panel led by David Houghton, MD, MPH and discusses 3 synucleinopathies: Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The authors provide information about the epidemiology, progression, etiology, and symptoms of these conditions and describe their impacts on patients, families, caregivers, the health care system, and the economy.

Distinguishing between the overlapping symptoms of these synucleinopathies can be difficult, which often results in years of clinical testing and monitoring before a patient receives a final, definitive diagnosis. The White Paper discusses the ability of biomarker testing to fill the gaps in synucleinopathy diagnosis, owing to the following features:

• Specificity
• Sensitivity
• Ease in measurement
• Presymptomatic recognition of disease
• Inexpensiveness
• Accessibility
• Reproducibility
• Use for indicating and monitoring disease progression and severity

The authors provide commentary on the following currently available biomarkers, explaining their applications in synucleinopathy diagnosis:

• α-synuclein (α-syn) skin biopsy
• α-synuclein (α-syn) seed amplification (SA) assay
• Dopamine transport single-photon emission CT (DaTscan) imaging

"Biomarkers provide new hope for patients with synucleinopathies by facilitating correct and early diagnosis as well as advancing research into effective treatments for these diseases,” said David Houghton, MD, MPH, Movement Disorders Neurologist at Ochsner Health. “Progressive neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy have no cure, which underscores the importance of early diagnosis and earlier treatment to improve quality of life for patients and their families."