ICBII Update on the Road to the Cure - May 2023

PARKINSON’S RESEARCHERS DISCOVER DISEASE BIOMARKER

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized pathologically by the formation of Lewy bodies comprised mainly of alpha-synuclein. Currently, definitive diagnosis of the disease is made only postmortem. In research published in the journal The Lancet, Chinese scientists disclosed a new way of detecting Parkinson’s disease from skin cells [Reference: www.thelancet.com vol. 80, June 2022]. Since pathological biopsies of brain tissues from live Parkinson’s patients is not possible, the scientists analyzed skin alpha-synuclein and determined that such a method has the potential as an excellent diagnostic method with high sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility that is also convenient and acceptable to patients.

The relatively small size of this study involving only 28 patients is a notable limitation. For skin biopsies to be a diagnostic tool will require validation in a large number of patients. In addition, sensitivity, and specificity of 90% is not adequate for giving confirmatory diagnosis to patients as there can be too many positives or negatives. Furthermore, biopsy of skin nerves is not a trivial thing. Therefore, patients should not expect FDA approved skin biopsy diagnostic test for Parkinson’s for many years to come.

The bigger question is whether alpha-synuclein is causative or an effective of the disease. Antibodies based therapies directed to clear Lewy bodies and oligomeric species of alpha-synuclein have failed to improve the motor function, questioning the validity of alpha-synuclein as a therapeutic target for Parkinson’s.

The scientists at ICB International, Inc., believe that mitochondria dysfunction and axonal demyelination are probably the first events that take place in most of the neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s. Without restoring these functions, it would be impossible to develop curative therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

ADDITIONALLY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP get ICBII’s drugs to market faster? The joy of being a part of these historical events can be had by helping ICBII find the funds to bring these trials to fruition through your investing, and by finding others with the financial ability and humanitarian mindset to accomplish the, until now, impossible. Please contact ICBII directly through their website ICBII.com or by phone 858-455-9880, or contact Jo Rosen at PRO for a personal introduction to the scientists.

IMAGINE the world without Parkinson’s, MSA, or Alzheimer’s disease.

JUST IMAGINE.