Researchers in Japan have developed a novel imaging agent that can visualize how an abnormal protein accumulates in the brains of people living with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
The study, led by researchers at the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) and published Thursday in the journal Neuron, could help better our understanding of the diseases, for which there are currently no cures.
It has been known that a protein called alpha-synuclein builds up in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia, forming clumps called fibrils. But detecting these fibrils in living patients is difficult.