Early Parkinson's may be detected decades before symptoms by a blood test

A study from Chalmers University and Oslo University Hospital reports blood biomarkers tied to DNA repair and cellular stress that can appear up to about 20 years before Parkinson's motor symptoms, and the authors say blood tests could enter clinical use within roughly five years.

A study from Chalmers University of Technology and Oslo University Hospital reports blood-based signals linked to early Parkinson's disease. Researchers say these signals relate to DNA repair and cellular stress responses that can be active long before motor symptoms appear. The team applied machine learning to identify patterns present in early-stage cases but not in people already diagnosed or in healthy controls. The findings were published in npj Parkinson's Disease. Key findings: - The study identified blood gene-activity patterns associated with DNA repair and cellular stress that researchers report can appear up to about 20 years before motor symptoms. - Those patterns were found in early-stage cases and were not present in already diagnosed patients or healthy comparison groups, according to the authors. - The researchers noted limits: gene activity measured in blood only partially reflects brain processes, medication use may have affected results, and the study population may not represent all people. - The research team said they plan to develop easier detection tools and predict blood tests for early diagnosis could become more common in clinical practice within about five years. Summary: The study reports a potential window for detecting biological changes linked to Parkinson's well before motor symptoms emerge, which the authors say could inform future research and treatment development. The findings are reported as preliminary, and the team has described technical and population limits that require further work. Researchers plan to refine detection methods and study the underlying mechanisms, with broader clinical adoption reported as possible within several years.