Otago researchers are co-leading a team of researchers from across New Zealand to discover whether tears can reveal early signs of Parkinson's disease.
Could your tears tell doctors whether you are developing Parkinson’s disease? Newly funded, world-leading research will push forward this pioneering idea, which could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment for New Zealanders.
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from across New Zealand will collaborate over the next two years in an effort to confirm whether the concept could work. The Neurological Foundation has funded the $307,444 project, led by a team from the University of Otago Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, and the University of Canterbury, working alongside researchers from the University of Auckland.
It taps into two longitudinal studies currently underway in Aotearoa New Zealand focusing on neurodegenerative diseases. Participants will be asked to gently shed some tears, which will then be tested for the tell-tale signs of Parkinson’s disease.
Professor Tim Anderson
According to Lead investigator, Professor John Dalrymple-Alford, this could aid with clinical diagnosis of patients, help determine if someone is at risk of Parkinson’s, as well as help doctors monitor and manage earlier treatment for the disease.
“Currently, a lumbar puncture is the best way of testing for the disease – but this procedure is invasive, expensive, and currently only used in a research context,” Professor Dalrymple-Alford says.
“Blood and other tissues are also being evaluated, but the prospect of using people’s tears has many benefits.
“Collecting tears is a low-impact procedure. It uses a sterile strip of “filter paper” to collect tear fluid from the lower surface of the eye. This fluid would ideally be used for an initial clinical test to detect the key molecular sign of the disease. So, this long-standing medical technique might now be part of a regular diagnostic examination for Parkinson’s,” he says.
Key investigator, University of Otago Professor Tim Anderson, Clinical Director of the New Zealand Brain Research Institute, says other bodily tissues such as skin and salivary glands have also shown evidence of increased amounts of the alpha-synuclein protein, but this requires a biopsy – another invasive procedure.
Associate Professor Joanna Williams
“A simple process of tear collection and protein analysis could lead to a convenient and accessible way to help clinicians to diagnose and treat Parkinson’s at its earliest beginnings,” Professor Anderson says.
Professor Dalrymple-Alford says frequent testing using tears is simpler and better tolerated by the patient than repeat blood sampling.
“Tears also provide an easy source of a host of biological material so other factors can be tested at the same time,” he says.
There’s been growing interest focused on the eye and its tears to help understand medical conditions. This research is the first to adapt the latest biochemical techniques to use tears to uncover some of the hidden secrets of Parkinson’s.
The researchers say they’ll compare the results from people with Parkinson’s to people showing evidence of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as tears from age-matched controls. They’ll look for changes that are both specific to, and overlap, the two neurodegenerative conditions.
The Neurological Foundation’s Head of Research, Dr Sarah Schonberger, says the collaborative nature of this project was one of its strengths when being considered for funding.
“The combined research and clinical expertise across the team makes it more likely to be successful,” she says. “It’s exciting to think that it could lead to a simple, low-cost diagnostic tool that would be of great benefit to patients and their doctors,” Dr Schonberger says.
The team working on this project
Lead investigators: Professor John Dalrymple-Alford and Dr Vanessa Morris (New Zealand Brain Research Institute and University of Canterbury) and Associate Professor Joanna Williams (University of Otago). Other key investigators: Professor Tim Anderson, Associate Professor Tracy Melzer, Dr Toni Pitcher, Dr Daniel Myall & Dr Campbell Le Heron (New Zealand Brain Research Institute and University of Otago); Diane Guévremont, Dr Nick Cutfield and Professor Chris Frampton (University of Otago); and, Professor Lynette Tippett & Dr Erin Cawston (University of Auckland). Tim Anderson and Campbell Le Heron are also members of Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury, and Nick Cutfield is a member of Te Whatu Ora Southern.
Other University of Otago projects funded in the Foundation’s latest round:
Associate Professor Louise Bicknell
Associate Professor Louise Bicknell,
$15,000
Neurological disorders
This project focuses on a family of proteins whose genes are involved in multiple neurological disorders. Understanding how these proteins work together in the brain will improve understanding of how they influence disease. This small project grant will provide the evidence needed to develop a new area of study into developmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Professor Louise Parr-Brownlie
Professor Louise Parr-Brownlie,
$15,000
Parkinson’s disease
The standard drug treatment for Parkinson’s disease is levodopa, but 90% of patients develop side-effects of involuntary, uncontrollable movements (dyskinesia) from long-term use. This study will investigate changes in the brain in dyskinesia to improve understanding of why it occurs, so that new treatments can be developed to reduce or prevent it.