Cutaneous Phosphorylated α-Synuclein Frequently ID'd in Synucleinopathies

MONDAY, March 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A high proportion of individuals with synucleinopathies has positivity for cutaneous phosphorylated α-synuclein, according to a study published online March 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Christopher H. Gibbons, M.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the positivity rate of cutaneous α-synuclein deposition in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and pure autonomic failure (PAF) in a study conducted at 30 sites. Patients aged 40 to 99 years with a clinical diagnosis of PD, DLB, MSA, or PAF and control participants aged 40 to 99 years with no history of examination findings or symptoms suggestive of a synucleinopathy or neurodegenerative disease were included (223 and 120 individuals, respectively).

The researchers found that the proportions of patients with cutaneous phosphorylated α-synuclein detected by skin biopsy were 92.7, 98.2, 96.0, and 100 percent with PD, MSA, DLB, and PAF, respectively, compared with 3.3 percent of controls.

"Further research is needed in unselected clinical populations to externally validate the findings and fully characterize the potential role of skin biopsy detection of phosphorylated α-synuclein in clinical care," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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