The present invention relates to the field of medicine and in particular to Parkinson's disease (PD). Specifically the present invention relates to methods and means for early detection of PD. The invention relates also to methods and means for treatment or prophylaxis of PD.

In the method of the invention a probability of a subject developing or having Parkinson's disease (PD) is determined by measuring the relative abundances of one or multiple microbial taxa in a sample from a subject; and the probability of the subject developing or having PD is determined based on the measured abundances. The present invention provides a novel approach for the diagnostics of PD.

The present invention relates to methods of detecting a neural injury biomarker in a biological sample. The method includes subjecting a biological sample to an assay according to the present invention that produces a measurable signal and detecting the measurable signal. The presence or absence of the measurable signal indicates the presence or absence of the biomarker in the sample. The present invention also relates to methods of determining the state of a subject's neural injury. The present invention also relates to systems and devices useful in carrying out the methods of the present invention.

Provided are aggregate alpha-synuclein specific antibodies as well as fragments, derivatives, and variants thereof as well as method related thereto for the early diagnostic and treatment of Parkinson's Disease and other Lewy body- and Lewy neurite-based diseases. Assays, kits, systems, and nanoparticle encapsulated compositions related to the antibodies or fragments, derivatives, and variants thereof are also disclosed.

Methods aiding in the diagnosis of certain neuropathies are disclosed, in which the titer of antibodies to a disulfated heparin disaccharide is assessed in a test sample from a subject. Also disclosed are apparatus and kits that can be used in the methods of the invention.

The present invention relates to a method for determining whether or not a subject has a parkinsonian condition, comprising determining the concentration of 2-hydroxypyridine in a sample obtained from the subject, wherein the subject is determined to have, or to be at risk of having the parkinsonian condition, if the determined concentration of 2-hydroxypyridine is increased compared to a control. The present invention further also relates to a method for monitoring the progression of a parkinsonian condition in a subject diagnosed with the parkinsonian condition and a method for assessing the efficacy of treatment of a parkinsonian condition in a subject diagnosed with the parkinsonian condition as well as a kit-of-parts for determining whether or not a subject has a parkinsonian condition.

An apparatus for performing cerebral micro-dialysis to treat neurological disease of a patient's brain includes a catheter for implantation in or near the patient's brain, an implantable pump communicated with the catheter to transport cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the patient, which CSF contains diseased cells or biomolecules associated with the neurological disease, and an implantable separation device communicated with the pump wherein the diseased cells or biomolecules are removed, where the separation apparatus includes a dialysis membrane impregnated with an antibody, a reversible electrostatic filter, and/or a magnetic field effect fractionation chamber wherein a magnetically-tagged antibody scavenges and aids in the removal of circulating diseased cells or biomolecules from the CSF.

The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a STT compound as an active ingredient for the prevention or treatment of Parkinson's disease. STT showed neuroprotective effect and apoptosis recovery effect in the Parkinson's disease cell model, restored the reduced motility in the MPTP animal model, and was shown to significantly protect dopamine cells, so it can be used for the prevention and treatment of Parkinson's disease.

The present invention includes methods and kits for the diagnosing a neurological disease within primary care settings comprising: obtaining a blood test sample from a subject, measuring IL-7 and TNFα biomarkers in the blood sample, comparing the level of the one or a combination of biomarkers and neurocognitive screening tests with the level of a corresponding one or combination of biomarkers in a normal blood sample and neurocognitive screening tests, and predicting that an increase in the level of the blood test sample in relation to that of the normal blood sample indicates that the subject is likely to have a neurological disease.

The invention relates to using serum exosomal proteins, α-synuclein and clusterin, as biomarkers in the prediction and identification of a subject having Parkinson's Disease, and provides methods for determining their levels. The biomarkers are also useful for monitoring, prevention and/or treatment of Parkinson's Disease and in differentiating Parkinson's disease from atypical parkinsonian syndromes including MSA.

The present disclosure provides yeast screening system/s and methods for screening of candidate therapeutic compound/s for treating, at least one proteniopathy and/or protein misfolding disorder. More specifically, the present disclosure provides systems and methods for identifying a therapeutic compound that inhibit Hcy fibril formation and uses thereof in treating Alzheimer's disease.