Doctors diagnose as many as 60,000 new cases of Parkinson’s disease every year in the United States. Yet diagnosing Parkinson’s with certainty can take years — long after early signs and symptoms have appeared.
The Israeli startup BioShai has a game-changing product on the horizon: PDx, the world’s first simple blood test for the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s.
The test results can be combined with clinical data, providing a more accurate diagnosis to help physicians decide on the best course of treatment at a much earlier stage.
“Having a diagnosis at an earlier stage can lead to a more precise treatment and a higher quality of life for the patient,” said BioShai CEO Jennifer Yarden. “Offering a simple and inexpensive test for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s is considered essential for the development of neuroprotective therapy, because by the time a patient has the many movement symptoms associated with Parkinson’s, a majority of the dopamine-producing neurons are lost or become impaired by the disease.”
The PDx blood test, which measures changes in particular molecules known to be associated with Parkinson’s, will be available through an Israeli lab on a limited beta basis in early 2017. BioShai will soon apply for regulatory approval in Europe. — israel21c