α-Synuclein Seed Amplification to Distinguish Dementias of Mixed Pathologies

An investigational assay performed well in a small sample, suggesting promise for future use.

Could an α-synuclein seed amplification assay (αSyn-SAA) in living and postmortem cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples reveal the distributions of pathological α-synuclein and co-pathologies and improve clinical diagnoses? To find out, researcher examined 119 patients diagnosed clinically (with Alzheimer disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, mild cognitive impairment, or another dementia) and neuropathologically, of whom 56 patients had both pre-mortem and postmortem CSF samples. The researchers used an investigational αSyn-SAA on frontal cortex and amygdala and compared sensitivity and specificity across brain regions. They compared copathology in the 66 α-synuclein positive and 53 α-synuclein negative patients.

Using CSF from living patients, t…

Reviewing Author

Michael S. Okun, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America

Speaker’s BureauMedscape/WebMD CME, Movement Disorders Society CME, American Academy of Neurology CME

RoyaltiesBooks4Patients; Demos; Cambridge; Taylor and Francis; Robert Rose; Public Affairs

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; Parkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America; University of Florida Foundation

Editorial BoardsTremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements; JAMA Neurology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesParkinson’s Foundation (Medical Advisor)