A recent advancement in medical imaging technology has opened new doors in understanding and treating neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Researchers from the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology in Japan have achieved a world-first by visualizing how a key protein, alpha-synuclein, accumulates in the brains of patients afflicted with these debilitating conditions.
Both Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia are characterized by specific symptoms like tremors, body stiffness, and hallucinations, all of which are suspected to be linked to the buildup of alpha-synuclein in brain cells. However, until now, this protein could not be effectively imaged using existing techniques like positron emission tomography (PET), making it challenging to develop targeted treatments for these diseases. To address this limitation, the research team devised a novel approach inspired by methods used to image Alzheimer’s disease-related substances, successfully creating an agent that binds strongly to alpha-synuclein for PET imaging.
In the study, the team applied this innovative PET agent to a group of participants, including healthy elderly individuals, patients with Parkinson’s disease, and those with Lewy body dementia. The images captured through PET scans revealed a higher volume of alpha-synuclein in the brains of patients compared to their healthy counterparts, establishing a correlation between the protein accumulation and the severity of motor dysfunction observed in these conditions. The outcomes of this research are expected to not only aid in future investigations on the relationship between disease severity and alpha-synuclein levels but also to facilitate the assessment of medication effectiveness targeted at this disease-causing substance.