Objective: The aim of our study was to measure total salivary α-synuclein in Parkinson´s disease (PD) patients to assess its potential as a biomarker of PD.

Background: There is an extensive search for reliable early-disease biomarkers for PD. Both autopsy and in vivo studies revealed presence of Lewy body pathology in salivary glands. As saliva is easily accessible, salivary α-synuclein is studied as a biomarker of PD. However, its potential is still uncertain. Some studies showed decreased total α-synuclein in saliva while other studies showed no significant difference between PD and healthy controls.

Method: 44 PD and 16 controls were included. In both groups, total α-synuclein in saliva was measured. Absolute total salivary α-synuclein and salivary α-synuclein after normalization to total protein concentration was compared between the two groups.

Results: There was no significant difference in total salivary α-synuclein (p=0,1931) or salivary α-synuclein after normalization to total protein concentration (p=0,8106) between the two groups. There was no significant difference in total salivary protein between the groups (P=0,2882).

Conclusion: Our study did not show a significant difference in total salivary α-synuclein in PD compared to control group. Total salivary α-synuclein does not seem to become a reliable biomarker of PD.

The study was supported by MH CZ – DRO (FNOl, 00098892)

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/salivary-%ce%b1-synuclein-in-parkinsons-disease-a-pilot-study/