A study published today takes the first major steps toward predicting who will get Parkinson's disease and what the course of their progression will be.

Compared to healthy adults, the study found that people with early Parkinson's had lower levels of amyloid beta, tau and alpha synuclein in their spinal fluid. In addition, those with lower concentrations of tau and alpha synuclein had greater motor dysfunction. And early Parkinson's patients with low levels of amyloid beta and tau were more likely to be classified as having the postural instability-gait disturbance- dominant (PIGD) motor type of disease, where falling, freezing, and walking difficulty are common.

I wasn't able to get a copy of the actual study yet, that should be available at JAMA Neurology in a day or two.
I'm happy to say that my wife (as a control) and I are participants in the on going PPMI research. This study is the first significant finding from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...medium=twitter

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-0...iagnostic.html