Skin biopsies can diagnose both Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions called prion diseases, recent studies show. Ted Dawson, Johns Hopkins Parkinson’s expert, predicts that soon, blood will supplant skin for detection of these incorrectly folded proteins. Dawson: We also …

Skin isn’t the only place to sample to make a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

More than 200,000 people in the US alone are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease yearly, but it can be caused by multiple forms of a misfolded protein called alpha synuclein. Ted Dawson, a Parkinson’s expert at Johns Hopkins, says managing the …

Personalized treatment may soon come for Parkinson’s disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

A type of test known as a seeding assay has been shown to be very good at diagnosing conditions like Parkinson’s disease, caused by a protein that folds incorrectly. Parkinson’s disease expert Ted Dawson at Johns Hopkins predicts these types …

Some people with Parkinson’s disease will test negative with the best test yet, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

A protein called alpha synuclein is normally found in our bodies, but it’s also found in a misfolded form that’s known to cause Parkinson’s disease. A recent study shows a skin biopsy can help make the diagnosis. Johns Hopkins Parkinson’s …

What is it that causes a normal protein to fold differently and cause Parkinson’s disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Used to be Parkinson’s disease was thought of as a movement disorder, but now it’s known that as the condition progresses two different types of dementia can also emerge. Ted Dawson, a Parkinson’s expert at Johns Hopkins, says recent studies …

Parkinson’s disease is actually a few different clinical entities, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Prions are misfolded proteins that can infect us and cause our normal proteins to fold incorrectly also, and they can be found in the skin, a new study reports. Ted Dawson, a Parkinson disease expert at Johns Hopkins, says this …

A new way of diagnosing prion disease may also help in other diseases, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Prion diseases are caused in people when an aberrant form of a protein that is already in our bodies infects us, and causes the normal protein to fold like it, resulting in neurological disease. A new study found that one …

What is a prion and how does it cause disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

The rare brain disorder abbreviated CJD, for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, can be diagnosed with two or more skin biopsies, a recent study shows. Johns Hopkins neurologist Ted Dawson says the fact that what causes the disease, a particle smaller than a virus …

Why is it that a disorder that affects the brain can be diagnosed with a skin biopsy? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Skin biopsies have proven better at diagnosing the rare brain disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob, abbreviated CJD, than doing a spinal tap to obtain cerebrospinal fluid, a new study reports. Ted Dawson, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, says this new test has multiple advantages. …

Making the diagnosis for a rare brain disease may now be easier, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or CJD is a rare neurological condition that may initially look like dementia and that is ultimately fatal. It’s caused by something called a prion, which is smaller than a virus. Now a new study demonstrates that a skin …

Diagnosing some neurologic diseases may now use a skin biopsy, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »