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Parkinson's disease test as cheap as a chip Clara Pirani FEBRUARY 22, 2007 AUSTRALIAN researchers have developed an inexpensive test to diagnose Parkinson's disease that could replace the existing test, which is rarely used because it costs $4000. Many patients cannot afford the current DNA test, which is not covered by Medicare. Instead, doctors rely on their own observations to diagnose the disease, raising concerns that some patients are being misdiagnosed. Using a tiny silicon chip, researchers at the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne have created a genetic test that costs $500. "The existing test was developed about 35 years ago and it's a very expensive form of DNA sequencing," said Justin Rubio, head of neurogenetics laboratory at the Howard Florey Institute. "It's mostly used for research because it's so expensive. "The existing test allows people to be tested for six known Parkinson's genes, but our chip lets us test for up to 17 genes that are suspected to be linked to Parkinson's." Dr Rubio's team has recruited 530 people with Parkinson's disease to test the accuracy of the device. "We know the technology works, it's now just a matter of finding out how accurate it is compared to the existing test," Dr Rubio said. About 100,000 Australians have Parkinson's disease. It is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease. "As the test is relatively cheap and only involves collecting a sample of blood or saliva, it could also be made available to the patient's relatives and those at risk of developing Parkinson's disease," Dr Rubio said. "We extract DNA from a saliva sample, then put those gene sequences on to the chip and the chip tells us whether there are changes to those genes that correlate to that person having Parkinson's disease. "The results are available within a week." Dr Rubio believes the technology could also lead to genetic testing for other diseases. "We think the information on the chip will also help us to predict how people will respond to treatment and tailor treatments to individual patients," he said. The Australian ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn