A Potential New Diagnostic Test for Multiple System Atrophy

Will phosphorylated α-synuclein skin biopsies be an option of the future for diagnosing MSA?

Multiple system atrophy (MSA), like Parkinson disease (PD), has been associated with deposition of phosphorylated α-synuclein (p-syn). Additionally, unlike in PD, patients with MSA have brain glial cytoplasmic inclusions. These authors studied whether p-syn could also be detected in skin Remak non-neuronal nonmyelinating Schwann cells (RSCs) in the form of Schwann cell cytoplasmic inclusions (SCCi). There were 46 patients with probable MSA (29 parkinsonism type and 17 cerebellar type), from whom the investigators took skin samples to look for depositions blindly examined by microscopy and compared to samples from 34 patients with PD, 16 with dementia with Lewy bodies, (DLB) and 50 healthy controls.

P-syn deposits were present in 78% of patie…

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)