November 9, 2024 15:04November 09, 2024 16:37
Natalie Trapp/watson.de
Especially as a young person, you'll be happy to think about your health for a long time. Apart from annoying back pain from sitting for long periods of time, you will face few problems. During the Oktoberfest flu, all you have to do is go in for an allergy test or write a sick note.
At the latest, you start to think about it when a family member or even a friend of the same age shows the first signs of serious illness. Diseases such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, or Parkinson's disease develop gradually but often eventually lead to acute injury.
In terms of prevention, early detection of these diseases is particularly important. At least for Parkinson's disease, researchers at Harvard University's Wyss Institute have now apparently discovered a new and precise method.
Future 'liquid biopsy' will detect Parkinson's cells
The background is the ongoing development of so-called “liquid biopsy” methods in clinical medicine. To do this, the blood or other body fluids (such as urine) are checked for certain markers that may indicate disease. Parkinson's disease, for example, has so far been discovered only in postmortem brain cells.
Today's minimally invasive procedures utilize so-called extracellular vesicles (EVs). These are air bubbles in the blood that carry information between cells and therefore can provide information about diseased brain cells before symptoms appear.
Parkinson's disease often begins with a feeling of muscle stiffness, followed by balance problems and hand tremors that are characteristic of the disease.
Harvard researchers are creating a 'window' into the human brain
In the new test, special bubbles in the blood are now subjected to a special examination procedure that detects and extracts only proteins related to Parkinson's disease. The specific appearance of alpha-synuclein also indicates how far Parkinson's disease has progressed.
“The team’s work represents a technical masterpiece,” emphasizes Wyss Director Donald Ingber. So far, researchers have not been able to distinguish in detail what the vesicles contain.
“We are now not far away from using vesicles as windows into a patient's brain without the need for surgical intervention,” explains Ingber.
In addition to better diagnostics, the new approach should also enable the development of better treatments for Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders in the future. The entire procedure does not require much effort or risk for the patient or doctor compared to previous surgeries.
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