A robust biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease
- Summary
- Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder that is caused by the buildup of alpha-synuclein protein within neurons of specialized brain regions and leads to neuronal death in a manner that is not fully understood. Current diagnostic standards are largely observational and a widely accepted diagnostic test has remained elusive. This technology is a method for detecting a T cell-mediated immune response against alpha-synuclein that is specific to PD patients. While healthy individuals produce alpha-synuclein, they rarely exhibit an immunogenic reaction from T cells. In PD patients, T cell activation by alpha-synuclein leads to death of the neuron, implicating this immune response as a key step in disease progression. The technology represents a powerful biomarker for the presence and classification of PD.
- Technology Benefits
- Potential to be the first diagnostic test for Parkinson's diseaseCould enable early intervention, as it would not require doctors and patients to wait for symptoms to advance in order to confirm a diagnosisSimple and low-cost Could prove to be an effective treatment for large populations of PD patients if the immune response is broadly targeted Could lead to personalized treatment regimens and is expected to result in fewer side effectsImmune therapies currently in development for other autoimmune disorders such as type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis could be easily translated to target these PD T cell responses.Patent Information:Patent Pending (WO/2015/157117) Tech Ventures Reference: IR CU14042
- Technology Application
- Accurate diagnosis of PD from blood samplesConfirmation of a PD diagnosis that has been made on symptomatic criteriaPotential biomarker to monitor disease progression and provide an objective means for evaluating novel therapeutics and identifying patients in pre-clinical stages Potential tool to identify patient-specific disease variation that would guide physicians to a more personalized medicine approach if further developed
- Detailed Technology Description
- None
- *Abstract
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None
- *Inquiry
- Beth KaudererColumbia Technology VenturesTel: (212) 854-8444Email: TechTransfer@columbia.edu
- *IR
- cu14042
- *Principal Investigator
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- *Publications
- Cebrian C, Zucca FA, Mauri P, Steinbeck JA, Studer L, Scherzer CR, Kanter E, Budhu S, Mandelbaum J, Vonsattel JP, Zecca L, Loike JD, Sulzer D. "MHC-I expression renders catecholaminergic neurons susceptible to T-cell-mediated degeneration." Nat Commun. 2014 Apr 16;5:3633. Cebrian C, Loike JD, Sulzer D. "Neuronal MHC-I expression and its implications in synaptic function, axonal regeneration and Parkinson's and other brain diseases." Front Neuroanat. 2014 Oct 13;8:114.
- Country/Region
- USA
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