A research team, including the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, has announced that it has succeeded in imaging abnormal proteins that accumulate in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease and other conditions in the brains of living patients. This is said to be a significant achievement that will aid in disease diagnosis and the investigation of disease progression.

It is known that abnormal proteins called 'alpha-synuclein' accumulate in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia. However, a technique to investigate the accumulation of these proteins in the brains of living patients has not been established.

The research team developed a special drug that binds to alpha-synuclein and emits weak radiation. They administered this drug to 10 patients with Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia and then used a PET (positron emission tomography) imaging device to scan their brains. As a result, they were able to confirm the accumulation of alpha-synuclein in the substantia nigra, a part of the midbrain, through images. Additionally, they found that the amount of accumulation was higher in patients with more severe symptoms.

The research team assessed this technology as an achievement that could help diagnose diseases and investigate their progression. The lead researcher, Hironobu Endo, said, "Using this technology, we can identify people with abnormal protein accumulation in the brain, conduct clinical trials, and confirm the therapeutic effects. This research will also contribute to elucidating the disease mechanism."

In Japan, Parkinson's disease occurs at a rate of approximately 100 to 180 per 100,000 people, and about 1 per 100 people over the age of 65. Following the entry into an aging society, the number of patients has been steadily increasing. Experts are warning of the seriousness of this phenomenon, referring to it as a 'Parkinson's pandemic.' Parkinson's disease is caused by the decrease of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. While the exact cause remains unknown, there is research indicating that alpha-synuclein accumulates in dopamine neurons, leading to their decrease.

This research result is expected to make a significant contribution to the development of Parkinson's disease diagnosis and treatment, as it involves the development of a technique that directly observes the accumulation of alpha-synuclein. It is anticipated that this will also accelerate the development of fundamental therapeutic agents targeting alpha-synuclein.