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Published on: May 30, 2015
Oligomeric α-synuclein is increased in basal tears of Parkinson's patients
Sarah F Hamm-Alvarez1,2, Curtis T Okamoto2, Srikanth R Janga1
1Department of Ophthalmology & Roski Eye Institute, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90033-6103, USA.
Abstract:
Aim: Secretion of proteins into basal tears of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients may be altered by changes in nerve function. Materials & methods: Oligomeric α-SynOligo and total α-SynTotal, CCL-2, DJ-1, LF and MMP-9 were measured in basal tears from 93 PD patients and 82 age- and sex-equivalent healthy controls. Results: α-SynTotal was decreased (p = 0.0043), whereas α-SynOligo (p < 0.0001) and the ratio of α-SynOligo/α-SynTotal (p < 0.0001) were increased in basal tears from PD patients compared with healthy controls. Area under receiver-operating curves of α-SynOligo and α-SynOligo/α-SynTotal contents were 0.70 (95% confidence limits: 0.621-0.774) and 0.72 (95% confidence limits: 0.642-0.792). Conclusion: PD patient basal tears may contain biomarkers that can be assayed noninvasively and inexpensively.
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