New skin-based test to boost diagnosis of debilitating neurodegenerative disease

CANADIAN researchers have developed a skin-based test that can detect signature features of a progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) -- a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects body movements, including walking, balance, and swallowing.

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The test could allow for more accurate and faster PSP diagnosis than current methods, said the team from the University Health Network (UHN) and the University of Toronto.

"This assay is important for assigning patients to the correct clinical trials, but it will be even more important in the future as researchers develop targeted, precision treatments for PSP," said Ivan Martinez-Valbuena, a scientific associate at the Rossy Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Centre at the UHN.

"We need diagnostic tools to be developed hand-in-hand with new treatments so that as these treatments become available, we can identify the patients who would benefit most," she added.