What if there was a fast way to measure alpha synuclein levels using just one drop of blood? Can you imagine going to visit your doc and being able to measure your alpha synuclein misfolding levels in a few minutes? Then the doc could prescribe a dose of drug AlphaSyn Fixer as needed to remove misfolded alpha synuclein in the blood! I believe this will happen in the next 10 years or less!

The immunoassay device in the video could be used to detect alpha synuclein in blood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzeFdNXIzOc

Actually, the relationship between cerebral fluid a-syn and PD is negative. People with PD have lower levels, not higher. The thought is that the a-syn is staying in the brain, aggregating as the neurons fail to dispose of them as waste. Keep in mind, it's not the level of a-syn that is thought to be the problem. The theory is it's the mutation into a misfolded form that causes the problem.

http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_...2013/08/shaw2/

Thanks for that info. I did see a similar study which I thought showed lower alpha syn levels for PD patients. Does this mean that the present 2 clinical trials to lower Alpha Synuclein levels won't likely be much help to treat PD?

No, that should not be a problem. Prothena has designed their antibody immunotherapy as passive immunization against the C-terminus (CT) truncation of a-syn. CT of a-syn is believed to cause toxic fragments which causes the oligomerization, propagation and aggregation of the a-syn in the neuron. They have shown this to work in-vitro and with mouse induced PD. Now, we need to see if works in humans.

These vaccines are still years away from possible commercialized use, as they move through the clinical trial process. However, if you like the concept, and are comfortable that they are relatively safe (which the data to date has shown) you can go into the phase 2 trial. Prothena will have multiple sites throughout the US. Affiris is only conducting trials in Europe.