title: Early detection of Parkinson's disease: unmet needs.
abstract: A biomarker (biological marker) is a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenetic processes or pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention. Expectations are high for the development of biomarkers since they make it possible to achieve a significant improvement in the diagnosis and classification of diseases like Parkinson's disease. As a surrogate marker for clinical studies, a biomarker can also be used to determine the efficacy of novel therapeutic interventions, such as neuroprotective strategies, and for monitoring the progress of the disease. Imaging techniques ((18)F-DOPA PET, (123)I-beta-CIT SPECT, MIBG scintigraphy, functional imaging), clinical tests (e.g. hyposmia, micrography, hyperechogenicity, apomorphine test), biochemical markers (e.g. alpha-synuclein and neuromelanin antibodies, oxidative and mitochondrial markers) and genetic tests for hereditary forms (PARK1 to PARK11) are evaluated for their suitability.
authors.affiliation: Universität Würzburg, Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Labor für Klinische Neurobiologie, Würzburg, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gerlach
authors.forename: Albrecht
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hendrich
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hueber
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jost
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Winkler
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Woitalla
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riederer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005819:Genetic Markers