Immuno-Diagnostics Antibodies and Antigens for Parkinson's Disease (PD)

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects the motor system. Such a loss of dopamine producing neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain causes the disease, which results in less dopamine. Dopamine is as important a neurotransmitter as it is to the movement as it is to the emotional responses. These neurons are damaged or killed leading to the characteristic motor and non-motor symptoms seen in Parkinson's disease ^[1-2].

Pathological Changes in Parkinson's Disease

1. Loss of Dopamine Neurons: Parkinson’s disease is primarily characterized simply by the progressive loss of dopamine-releasing neurons in substantia nigra, a movement control locale of the brain. This loss causes a decrease in dopamine in the brain; decreased brain signaling and production of dopamine leads to motor signs such as tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia .

2. Formation of Lewy Bodies: The other pathological hallmark is the presence of proteinaceous cytoplasmic inclusion bodies called Lewy bodies inside neurons. These deposits by and large contain α-synuclein protein and interfere with cell physiology thus leading to neuronal death. Originally thought to be observed only in SN, LB are also present in other regions of the brain, which can cause a number of nonmotor symptoms, such as cognitive impairment and mood changes.

3. Neurotransmitter Changes: In addition to dopamine, Parkinson’s disease involves a reduction of serotonin, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine neurotransmitters. All these changes cause the non motor manifestations such as depression, sleep wake syndrome and autonomic dysfunction.

All these pathological changes collectively explain the motor-symptom saturated view of parkinsonism and the necessity for combined motor and non-motor symptom pharmacological management.

Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease requires careful diagnosis to diagnose the condition correctly and to rule out other conditions with similar symptoms. Clinical symptom assessment is centered on the documentation of traditional motor abnormality signs such as tremor, rigidity, and akinesia. A neurological examination tests reflexes and coordination, muscle strength, and tone. The drug response test measures the improvement after giving dopaminergic treatments; common a PD symptom. MRI for instance or DaT scan precludes other conditions and evaluates the dopamine transporter. The use of novel biomarker tests such as alpha synuclein, DJ-1, and Neurofilament light chain (NfL) gives relevant information about the diseases anatomic distribution and evolution. This way, integration of these methods provides accurate and comprehensive diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.