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Erschienen in:
29.03.2018 | Original Communication
Alpha-synuclein is present in dental calculus but not altered in Parkinson’s disease patients in comparison to controls
Erschienen in: Journal of Neurology | Ausgabe 6/2018
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Introduction
In autopsy cases staged for sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD), the neuropathology is characterized by a preclinical phase that targets the enteric nervous system of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Therefore, the ENS might be a source of potential (presymptomatic) PD biomarkers.
Methods
In this clinically based study, we examined the alpha-synuclein (αSyn) concentration in an easily accessible protein storage medium of the GIT, dental calculus, in 21/50 patients with PD and 28/50 age- and gender-matched controls using ELISA.
Results
αSyn was detectable in dental calculus and the median concentration in the control patients was 8.6 pg/mg calculus (interquartile range 2.6–13.1 pg/mg). αSyn concentrations were significantly influenced by blood contamination and samples with a hemoglobin concentration of > 4000 ng/mL were excluded. There was no significant difference of αSyn concentrations in the dental calculus of PD patients (5.76 pg/mg, interquartile range 2.91–9.74 pg/mg) compared to those in controls (p = 0.40).
Conclusion
The total αSyn concentration in dental calculus is not a suitable biomarker for sporadic PD. Disease-related variants such as oligomeric or phosphorylated αSyn in calculus might prove to be more specific.