"What National Institutes of Health scientists developing a rapid practical test for the early diagnosis of prion diseases have modified the assay to offer the possibility of improving early diagnosis of Parkinsons disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. The group led by NIHs National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases NIAID tested  cerebral spinal fluid samples including  from people with Parkinsons disease  from people with dementia with Lewy bodies and  controls including  of whom had Alzheimers disease. The test correctly excluded all the  controls and diagnosed both Parkinsons disease and dementia with Lewy bodies with  percent accuracy. Importantly test results were available within two days compared to related assays that require up to  days. The group conducted the tests using RealTime QuakingInduced Conversion RTQuIC an assay developed and refined over the past decade at NIAIDs Rocky Mountain Laboratories. Scientists from the University of California San Diego University of Verona in Italy Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Cleveland collaborated on the project.  The research findings were published in Acta Neuropathologica Communications. Multiple neurological disorders including Parkinsons disease and dementia with Lewy bodies involve the abnormal clumping of a protein called alphasynuclein into brain deposits called Lewy bodies. The pathological processes in these diseases resembles prion diseases in mammal brains. Like prion diseases Parkinsons disease and dementia with Lewy bodies result in progressive deterioration of brain functions and ultimately death. Parkinsons disease is about  times more common than prion diseases affecting up to  million people in the United States with  new cases diagnosed each year. Lewy body dementia affects an estimated . million people in the United States according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association. Early and accurate diagnoses of these brain disorders is essential for developing treatments and identifying patients eligible for clinical trials. The diseases typically progress for years before symptoms appear and once they do distinguishing one disease from another can be difficult. The NIAID group continues to adapt the RTQuIC assay to detect additional types of neurological diseases with greater accuracy using the least invasive patient sample possible  whether that is blood skin nasal brushings or other samples. The group also has trained many international colleagues to use and advance the test. Article B Groveman et al. Rapid and ultrasensitive quantitation of diseaseassociated asynuclein seeds in brain and cerebrospinal fluid by aSyn RTQuIC. Acta Neuropathologica Communications DOI .s . Who Byron Caughey Ph.D. a senior investigator in NIAIDs Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases is available to comment on this study. Contact To schedule interviews please contact Ken Pekoc   kpekocniaid.nih.gov link sends email mailtokpekocniaid.nih.gov. This research was supported in part by NIH funding awards ZIA AI AGO and PHS PAG. NIAID conducts and supports researchat NIH throughout the United States and worldwideto study the causes of infectious and immunemediated diseases and to develop better means of preventing diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases fact sheets and other NIAIDrelated materials are available on the NIAID website http  About the National Institutes of Health NIH NIH the nations medical research agency includes  Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic clinical and translational medical research and is investigating the causes treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs visit  https"