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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Detection of Disease-associated α-synuclein by Enhanced ELISA in the Brain of Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Human A53T Mutated α-synuclein
Published on: May 30, 2015
Diagnostic biomarkers for Parkinson's disease: focus on α-synuclein in cerebrospinal fluid
1Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine and Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto; Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic and the Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine and Krembil Research Institute, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Abstract:
Diagnostic biomarkers are measures that detect or confirm the presence of a disease or identify individuals with a subtype of the disease. For Parkinson's disease, unlike other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, diagnostic biomarkers remain elusive as none are yet available or approved for clinical use. A biomarker to diagnose early or prodromal Parkinson's disease with high accuracy would significantly enhance clinical practice as well as advance clinical therapeutic trials. Multiple lines of evidence support a role of α-synuclein in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease and hence major ongoing efforts to identify biomarkers for Parkinson's disease are aimed at measuring α-synuclein in peripheral tissues and biofluids, including cerebrospinal fluid. This work is still in the early stages of biomarker development and has been accompanied by both losses and victories. Here, α-synuclein in cerebrospinal fluid as a diagnostic marker for Parkinson's disease is reviewed, including measures of total α-synuclein, oligomeric and phosphorylated α-synuclein, and seeding activity of α-synuclein.
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