Published in: NORTWEST PARKINSON'S FOUNDATION

Dated: September 19, 2013

http://www.nwpf.org/News.aspx?Item=4335

A genetic mutation called GBA, which leads to the early onset of Parkinson's disease and severe memory and learning impairments (about 4-7% of all patients with the disease) also determines how two certain fats CERAMIDES GLUCOSYLCERAMIDES are metabolized. Researchers from the MAYO CLINIC that Parkinson's patients who do not carry a genetic mutation have high levels of these two lipids in their blood. In addition, patients who also showed high levels of these fats showed a tendency to memory and learning disabilities as well as dementia. The study was recently published online in JOURNAL PLOS ONE.

The discovery could be an important warning for Parkinson's patients. Parkinson's disease is the second most common degenerative disease of the nervous system after Alzheimer's disease. There is no biological marker that will indicate who will get the disease - and who will develop memory and learning disabilities after getting Parkinson's disease, says Dr. Michelle Mialka, a researcher at the MAYO CLINIC and the main author of the article.

Memory and learning deficits are a frequent phenomenon in Parkinson's disease patients and can be more limiting for patients and caregivers than the typical motor symptoms. The early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in those at the highest risk of developing dementia is important because it can prevent or delay the onset and progression of memory and learning problems. Changing these blood lipids can be a way to stop the progression of the disease, says Dr. Mialka.

There is also a suggestion that these blood lipids could predict who will get Parkinson's disease and this research is underway.

"Today there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, but the earlier we recognize it, the better chance we have of fighting it," says Dr. Mialka. "It is especially important that we find a biological marker for the disease and identify it in the stage before the outbreak of the disease in the pre-clinical stage."

Dr. Mialka's laboratory studies blood biomarkers for Parkinson's disease, because blood tests are less invasive and cheaper than a brain scan and a spinal fluid test - additional tools used in the study of the disease.

This research was supported by research grants from the NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING (U01AG37526) and the George P. Mitchell and the late Cynthia W. Mitchell. The DEMPARK study was funded by unrestricted research grants from Novartis and the INTERNATIONAL PARKINSON FUNDS (Germany). The follow-up study LANDSCAPE is part of the Competence Network Degenerative Dementias (KNDD) study funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (project number 01GI008C).