Purdue research: Liquid biopsy method may reveal signs of Parkinson’s disease in urine samples

A Purdue University research group led by biochemistry professor W. Andy Tao collaborated with Tymora Analytical Operations, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and Columbia University for a study that found a non-invasive way to potentially detect Parkinson’s disease in a patient’s urine.

Article Title

Quantitative proteomics and phosphoproteomics of urinary extracellular vesicles define putative diagnostic biosignatures for Parkinson’s disease

Author(s)

Roy Alcalay, associate professor, Clinical Neurology (Columbia University)

Marco Hadisurya, PhD student, Biochemistry

Anton Iliuk, president and chief technology officer, Tymora Analytical Operations

Kananart Kuwaranancharoen, PhD student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Zheng-Chi Lee, West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School

Li Li, Tymora Analytical Operations

Shalini Padmanabhan, vice president of discovery and translational research, The Michael J. Fox

Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

Andy Tao, professor, Biochemistry

Xiaofeng Wu, postdoctoral researcher, Analytical Chemistry

Journal

Communications Medicine, 2023

Full Article

Article Summary

A team led by researchers at Purdue University and Purdue spinoff company Tymora Analytical Operations has developed a noninvasive technique that may reveal signs of Parkinson’s disease in urine samples. The researchers analyzed urine samples from 138 individuals and found several proteins involved in PD development that could be biological indicators for early detection of the disease. The method could eventually lead to widespread noninvasive testing for other neurodegenerative conditions as well as cancer. Parkinson’s disease alone affects an estimated 1% of the over-60 population. Up to a million Americans live with the disease, while 90,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.