He Parkinson’s disease This is one of the diseases whose incidence has been growing fastest in recent years. In Spain alone, it is estimated that this figure has doubled over the past quarter century. 100,000 new cases every year. Unfortunately, as with Alzheimer’s disease, there is no cure. The only option is to prevent and treat symptoms as they occur. This does not prevent the disease from progressing, but it may slow its progression. The problem is that it takes a long time to show its face, so it is usually discovered when it is too late. Therefore, a new study was conducted, with the help of which it was possible to make a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. 7 years before symptoms appearThis is great news.
For this you only need one blood sample. This is also progress since the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is usually made cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Extract via lumbar puncture The procedure is very invasive, so it is usually performed only if many signs of the disease are present.
Typically, by the time these signs appear, more than 60% of the dopamine-producing cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra have already been lost. Dopamine is not only responsible for the pleasure and reward systems. It is also important for sending signals that are translated into muscle movements. If more than half of the cells have already been destroyed, the situation is already very it’s hard to stop.
The importance of early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease has a premotor phase, in which symptoms such as loss of smell, gastrointestinal problems, or REM sleep disorders. The latter is a very important indicator. REM sleep, known in English as rapid eye movement, is a stage of deep sleep during which motor neurons are blocked so we cannot move. We are not aware of this because we are asleep, but if we wake up in the middle of this phase, we can realize that our body is motionless. This is what is known as sleep paralysis
The opposite is true for people with REM sleep disorders. The muscles are not paralyzed, so in their sleep they can move, speak and even scream. Outwardly, they live by what their brain imagines. This has happened to all of us at some point. This is not an indicator of illness. However, if this happens very often, This is considered a disorder.
In people with Parkinson’s disease, this is often the first symptom. There are people who have this sleep disorder without Parkinson’s disease, but it turns out that more prone to illness. This is something that becomes noticeable over time.
Therefore, a person with REM sleep disorder is a candidate for follow-up to try to accomplish Parkinson’s diagnosis if that were the case. Thus, if motor symptoms have not yet appeared, steps can be taken to slow their progression.
In these cases, in addition to lumbar puncture, DaTSCAN. This is a nuclear medicine test that is used to detect the loss of dopaminergic neurons. It confirms the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, but an abnormal result does not necessarily have to be related to the disease. In general, it is very difficult to detect the disease before symptoms appear. At least until artificial intelligence becomes part of the equation.
AI in search of disease markers
A few years after the wedding, a Scottish nurse named Joy Milne She discovered that her husband’s smell suddenly changed. I didn’t understand the reason. It was her body, not the perfume or deodorant. The scent emanating from his body changed. Fifteen years later, symptoms emerged that led to a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Could it be that his wife smelled illness?
The doctors were confused, but after smelling the shirts of sick and healthy people, they were convinced that he was really capable of this. Since then, with Joy’s help, they have been trying to figure out what these volatile compounds she smells are that are associated with the disease. This would be an ideal way to diagnose it in its early stages. It’s something that This is still under investigation.
Now scientists from University College Londonwho managed to detect 8 markers in the blood of patients with Parkinson’s disease thanks to artificial intelligence.
To do this they took part 99 patients with Parkinson’s disease, 72 people with REM sleep disorder and 26 healthy controls. When their blood was analyzed, 23 proteins were found that could be markers of the disease. However, the artificial intelligence algorithm managed to reduce the range to just 8 proteins. It seems that they were indeed associated with the mechanisms leading to the early stages of the disease.
Once the algorithm itself selected the proteins in question, it was used to predict which people with REM sleep disorder would develop the condition. The system was able to predict this using 80% success, in some cases even seven years before any symptoms appeared. Obviously, this is an invaluable time to begin prevention and mitigation of the first symptoms.
Very easy to do
This Parkinson’s diagnostic test is simple and can be performed in almost any laboratory. However, at the moment the investigation is being carried out with the participation of a small number of people. It will therefore be necessary to continue to study new cases and check whether the success rate is maintained. If so, artificial intelligence could give Parkinson’s patients a new way to stay ahead of the progress of their disease. This is the use new technologies which is what we like so much.
Source: Hiper Textual
