While the team looked at the levels of two additional proteins, CC chemokine ligand 2 and DJ-1 (Parkinson’s disease protein 7), neither of them varied significantly between PD patients and non-PD controls.
“We’re cautiously optimistic, and I don’t want to overstate the results because it’s still a relatively small group of subjects – we need to more than double the control population to make sure our results are maintained,” Dr. Lew said in an interview in advance of the meeting. “But it’s very exciting.”
At AAN, Dr. Lew’s research group will present findings from a larger cohort of both patients and controls. “Our expectation is that things will look similar and we will continue to see a significant difference in the oligomeric form of alpha-synuclein,” the tear protein associated with PD.
The idea of using tear proteins as biomarkers for PD came as a result of a collaboration with scientists working in USC’s ophthalmology lab, who had previously worked on tear biomarkers in other disorders, including Sjogren’s syndrome, Dr. Lew said.