Monoclonal Antibodies for Parkinson`s Disease

Dr. Omar El Agnaf

US/ 13/781,15

PCT/IB2014/059287

The early detection of Parkinson and the accurate clinical diagnosis of the disease are key issues in developing a medicine to fight this disease.

The invention is a new method that allows early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, and novel therapeutic vaccines for Parkinson’s disease and related illnesses with similar pathology. To date there is no antibody available which specifically recognizes the oligomeric forms of α-synuclein: therefore raising monoclonal antibodies that specifically recognizes the aggregated forms of α-synuclein could be an important tool for research, to develop a novel approach for diagnosis and possibly immunotherapy of Parkinson`s disease.

Commercially available α-synuclein antibodies, widely used for characterizing the Parkinson`s disease pathology in the brain, are non-specific and recognize both the monomeric and the aggregated forms of α-synuclein, and more likely would not recognize all the aggregated forms of α-synuclein that are involved in the pathology of Parkinson`s disease. Using specific antibodies for α-synuclein aggregates could instead reveal novel pathology for Parkinson`s disease.

• Diagnostics of Parkinson’s disease

• Development of novel therapeutic vaccine to treat Parkinson’s and related illnesses

• Provision of technology for further research