NeuralCipher Research overview
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BackgroundDopaminergic neuron depletion in the substantia nigra (SN) and the pathological aggregation of α-synuclein are the neuropathological hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD).ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the association between the polygenic risk score for PD (PD-PRS) and transcranial sonography (TCS)-measured SN hyperechogenicity to enhance the accuracy of PD susceptibility prediction.MethodsPD-PRSs were calculated for over 41,000 Estonian Biobank participants age 55+ years without a PD diagnosis. Participants in the highest and lowest PD-PRS percentiles (n = 222) underwent TCS measurements and Sniffin' sticks olfactory testing. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to examine the associations between PD-PRS, risk and prodromal markers, and SN hyperechogenicity.ResultsData from 204 participants with TCS measurements were analyzed, including 107 individuals in the high-risk PD-PRS group and 97 in the low-risk PD-PRS group. Incorporating PD-PRS group assignment improved the explained variance in SN hyperechogenicity from 17.2% to 31.9%. Participants in the low-risk PD-PRS group had 0.16 times lower odds (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.07-0.35, P ConclusionsOur findings indicate that TCS-measured SN hyperechogenicity is associated with PD-PRS and olfactory impairment. This combined assessment may improve early diagnosis of prodromal PD by pinpointing individuals at increased risk.
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