The new test can be used to identify pre-symptomatic patients with Parkinson’s disease and can measure progression of the disease.
GREENWICH, Conn. & JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ATED Therapeutics Ltd. announced a new diagnostic test for Parkinson’s Disease, developed at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. The test measures transfer RNA fragments (tRF’s) from nucleated red blood cells. Results were published in the April 2025 issue of Nature Aging and recently presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Related Neurologic Diseases in Vienna, Austria on April 2.
Currently, there is no reliable blood test for Parkinson’s disease. Instead, physicians diagnose the disease by observing a patient’s movements. Such qualitative tests have an error rate of 20%-25%, and can only be used once the disease has progressed and significant symptoms appear. Another test relies on a spinal tap, which cannot measure progression and involves significant discomfort and expense for the patient.
“Hebrew University and ATED have developed a simple, reliable, cost effective blood test that will change the way Parkinson’s is diagnosed and will allow clinicians to accurately identify and follow how the disease is progressing,” said CEO Jeff R. Swarz, Ph.D.
In addition, ATED’s test can measure the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS), which is often used to treat Parkinson’s disease.
Dr. Hermona Soreq, of the Nature Aging paper, states: “The availability of an early, reliable, and rapid blood test for diagnosis of PD can alleviate the burden of uncertainty for suffering individuals.” Dr. Soreq went on to say that “it can assist clinicians’ care of these patients early in the disease process and open novel routes for developing and testing new therapeutics.
“The reliability, sensitivity, speed and low cost of our assay may all indicate its value for enabling an improved universal, pre-symptomatic PD diagnosis that can improve detection rates and offer beneficial clinical approaches to patients with PD at diverse stages of their disease.”
About ATED
ATED Therapeutics Ltd., a private company, is dedicated to developing diagnostics and therapeutics for Parkinson’s and other Central Nervous System Diseases. In 2024, ATED Therapeutics was a finalist in Fast Co. 2024 World Changing Ideas.
Contacts
Media: Jeff R. Swarz Ph.D., CEO (jrswarz@atedtherapeutics.org).
