Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common degenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Alpha-synuclein (A-syn) plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of PD. The close relation between the salivary glands and the CNS could render the A-syn secretions in the saliva useful biomarkers for PD. Aim of the work To study the salivary A-syn levels in a cohort of PD Egyptian patients and to correlate these A-syn levels with the patients’ clinical data and disease severity. Patients and methods Twenty-five PD patients and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects, as a control group, were enrolled. Evaluation of PD patients was performed using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and modified Hoehn and Yahr scale (HYS). Samples of the saliva were analyzed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique for the specific anti A-syn total and anti A-syn oligomer (A-synolig). Results There was a statistically significant increase in A-synolig level and A-synolig/A-syn total ratio and a decrease in A-syn total level among PD patients. A statistically significant increase in A-synolig level was detected among patients having bradykinesia and rigidity as predominant symptoms. Also, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between A-synolig level and the disease duration. No statistically significant correlation was found between A-syn concentrations and disease severity. Conclusion Salivary A-syn total and A-synolig can be used as potential biomarkers for PD diagnosis.

中文翻译：

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唾液α-突触核蛋白（总形式和寡聚形式）：帕金森病的潜在生物标志物

背景 帕金森病 (PD) 是中枢神经系统 (CNS) 最常见的退行性疾病之一。α-突触核蛋白 (A-syn) 在 PD 的发病机制中起关键作用。唾液腺和中枢神经系统之间的密切关系可以使唾液中的 A-syn 分泌物成为 PD 的有用生物标志物。工作目的 研究一组 PD 埃及患者的唾液 A-syn 水平，并将这些 A-syn 水平与患者的临床数据和疾病严重程度相关联。患者和方法 招募了 25 名 PD 患者和 15 名年龄和性别匹配的健康受试者作为对照组。使用统一帕金森病评定量表 (UPDRS) 和改良的 Hoehn 和 Yahr 量表 (HYS) 对 PD 患者进行评估。使用酶联免疫吸附测定 (ELISA) 技术分析唾液样品中的特异性抗 A-syn 总和抗 A-syn 寡聚体 (A-synolig)。结果 PD患者A-synolig水平和A-synolig/A-syn总比值有统计学意义的增加，A-syn总水平降低。在以运动迟缓和僵硬为主要症状的患者中检测到 A-synolig 水平的统计学显着增加。此外，A-synolig 水平与疾病持续时间之间存在统计学上显着的正相关。在 A-syn 浓度和疾病严重程度之间没有发现统计学上显着的相关性。结论唾液A-syn total和A-synolig可作为PD诊断的潜在生物标志物。