Biomarkers for Parkinson's Disease and Neurodegenerative Disorders
Summary
Biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease (PD) and related neurodegenerative disorders span molecular, imaging and digital measures that together aim to improve early diagnosis, track progression and assess response to therapy. Fluid biomarkers include misfolded protein species such as alpha-synuclein in cerebrospinal fluid, blood, saliva or tear fluid, as well as neurofilament light chain and inflammatory mediators. Genetic and transcriptomic signatures, including single-nucleotide variants in SNCA or HMOX1, further stratify risk and subtype. Imaging biomarkers exploit molecular PET ligands or iron-sensitive MRI sequences to visualise nigrostriatal degeneration and microglial activation. Emerging approaches integrate multimodal data—proteomic, lipidomic and metabolomic panels—with wearable sensors that capture motor and non-motor phenotypes in real time. Together, these biomarkers promise to reveal prodromal stages, distinguish PD from atypical parkinsonian syndromes and guide personalised interventions by mapping oxidative stress, ferroptosis and neurovascular dysfunction across disease stages.
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Biomarkers for Parkinson's Disease and Neurodegenerative Disorders publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in biomarkers for parkinson's disease and neurodegenerative disorders across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Biomarker: A measurable indicator of a biological or pathogenic process.
Alpha-synuclein oligomer: Aggregated, soluble assemblies of alpha-synuclein associated with neuronal toxicity.
Ferroptosis: Iron-dependent regulated cell death driven by lipid peroxidation.
Ferritinophagy: Autophagic degradation of ferritin leading to intracellular iron release.
Inflammasome: A cytosolic multiprotein complex that activates inflammatory caspases and cytokines in response to stress.
References
- JWA binding to NCOA4 alleviates degeneration in dopaminergic neurons through suppression of ferritinophagy in Parkinson's disease. Redox Biology (2024).
- JAC4 Alleviates Rotenone-Induced Parkinson’s Disease through the Inactivation of the NLRP3 Signal Pathway. Antioxidants (2023).
- Abnormal Salivary Total and Oligomeric Alpha-Synuclein in Parkinson’s Disease. PLOS ONE (2016).
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