Notes from https://www.wsj.com/health/parkinsons-disease-can-now-be-detected-through-the-skin-5f9341e7?&mod=wknd_pos1 - Parkinson’s Disease Can Now Be Detected Through the Skin

• People with Parkinson’s disease have an abnormal protein called alpha-synuclein in their nerves.
• A medical technology company called CND Life Sciences developed a skin biopsy that can detect this protein.
• The test involves taking skin samples near ankle, knee, shoulder.
• It costs {\$1,500: insurance, \$995: patient}

• Parkinson's disease
  • Doctors normally diagnose it by symptoms
  • But symptoms take years to appear
  • It is the second-most common age-related neurodegenerative condition
  • It is a major driver of disability, dementia and death.
  • A sleep behavior disorder is a precursor to Parkinson’s
  • It is a progressive disorder where brain cells are lost over time
  • Parkinson’s occurs when cells deep in the brain that produce dopamine, which coordinates movement, become impaired or die.
  • Symptoms include tremors, stiffness, slow movements and problems with balance.
  • Patients also have non-motor complications such as depression, sleep disorders and pain.
  • It usually occurs in older people, more often men.
  • There is no cure, but drugs and other treatments help relieve symptoms.

• Dr. Jason Crowell, a movement-disorders neurologist in Louisville, Ky.
• CND Life Sciences, a medical technology company in Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Dr. Joseph Jankovic, professor of neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston
• dementia with Lewy bodies
• prognoses
• Dr. Christopher Gibbons, a neurologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston
• Dr. Todd Levine, chief medical officer of CND Life Sciences