New blood test detects Parkinson’s before symptoms appear

Israeli and British scientists have developed a breakthrough blood test capable of detecting Parkinson’s disease in its earliest stages—before symptoms even begin—potentially revolutionizing diagnosis and treatment.

A joint team of researchers from Israel and the UK has unveiled a fast, affordable, and highly accurate blood test that can identify Parkinson’s disease long before clinical symptoms arise, The Press Service of Israel (TPS-IL) reports.

Parkinson’s, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, affects over 10 million people globally and is notoriously difficult to diagnose early. By the time symptoms like tremors or stiffness appear, significant and often irreversible neurological damage has usually occurred.

The new test, based on qPCR technology, detects subtle changes in RNA fragments—specifically RGTTCRA-tRF—that are linked to the early development of the disease. This allows for pre-symptomatic diagnosis, enabling earlier interventions that could delay or even prevent disease progression.

The study was led by PhD student Nimrod Madrer and supervised by Prof. Hermona Soreq at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in collaboration with Dr. Iddo Paldor of the Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Dr. Eyal Soreq of the University of Surrey and Imperial College London. The findings were published in the journal Aging Nature.

The test could be particularly valuable for individuals with a family history of Parkinson’s, genetic risk factors, or early non-motor symptoms such as REM sleep behavior disorder. It could also aid pharmaceutical companies in selecting candidates for clinical trials targeting early-stage disease.

Beyond diagnosis, the test may help track the effectiveness of treatments by monitoring RNA fragment levels over time, giving clinicians a powerful tool to personalize therapy.

With broader clinical trials underway, the test could soon be available in community clinics, making early Parkinson’s screening widely accessible for the first time.

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