In an article in science daily today, there is a study published about measuring Lactate acid levels in the brain. It appears that these increased levels show up before other age-related or disease- related symptoms.

"The research group used both prematurely and normally aging mice to investigate the relationship between damage to mitochondria -- the organelle responsible for energy production in the cell -- and changes in metabolism during the aging process. Previous studies have shown a link between mitochondrial dysfunction and age-related neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer´s disease."

"......The researchers show that the damage to the mitochondria slowly increases with age in brains of mice and causes altered expression in certain genes that are responsible for the formation of lactate. They also show that brain lactate levels may increase in advance of other indices of aging, and can be detected using non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging techniques."

It sure sounds like a great and non- invasive way towards early detection of PD.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1102083646.htm