Swedish researchers say a simple blood test is effective at differentiating symptoms of Parkinson's disease from similar disorders, but it isn't ready for clinical use. In its early stages, neurologists say Parkinson's is difficult to distinguish from rarer disorders, called atypical parkinsonian disorders. One potential biomarker, a nerve protein that can be detected when nerve cells die, is found in higher concentrations in spinal fluid collected by lumbar puncture. Hansson said concentrations of the nerve protein could discriminate between the diseases as accurately as its concentrations in spinal fluid. Blood biomarkers have previously been considered in diagnosing Alzheimer disease but other teams weren't able to reproduce those findings.

Source: CBC News February 08, 2017 21:22 UTC