The test will lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments for patients with the neurological disorder.
Most patients are diagnosed by observing symptoms such as tremors, slow movement and muscular stiffness.
Because of the slow onset of the disease, many sufferers in the early stages are misdiagnosed as having other conditions such as repeated strokes.
This can lead to the use of inappropriate treatments that fail to slow the progression of the disease.
The research, which was funded by the actor Michael J Fox – who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 at the age of 30 – suggests that genetic alterations caused by the condition can be detected by chemical changes in the blood.
Dr Erik Christensen, the chief executive of DiaGenic, a Norwegian life sciences company that developed the test, said: “Progression of Parkinson’s disease has a serious impact on the quality of life of sufferers. The earlier an accurate diagnosis can be made, the earlier treatment can start and the better the prognosis for the patient.”
Researchers at DiaGenic announced last year that they had used the same process to develop a blood test that is sensitive enough to pick up early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
As part of this work they also discovered 500 genes that are affected by Parkinson’s which trigger chemical changes that can also be identified in blood samples.
Dr Clemens Scherzer of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, will test DiaGenic’s preliminary findings using blood samples already collected from 300 patients.
Dr Christensen said that he expected to be able to apply for a licence so that doctors could use the test by the end of next year.
There are some 10,000 new cases of Parkinson’s diagnosed every year in Britain, and about 120,000 people live with the condition, which occurs when cells in the part of the brain that controls movement die.
Dr Kieran Breen, of the Parkinson’s Disease Society, said: “The diagnosis of Parkinson’s can be difficult, given it has a slow onset and can be mistaken for a number of other conditions, particularly in the early stages.
“There is, therefore, a great need to look for something to measure in the body associated with Parkinson’s to be able to develop a test for its diagnosis.
“As blood samples have already been collected, the US researchers can immediately start work on analysing these samples. We look forward to the results.”
Last week Opaldia, which provides private health care in Britain, announced that it is expecting to begin offering a blood test to detect breast cancer, also developed by DiaGenic, to its members next year.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/22/nhealth122.xml
