betaSense GmbH identifies new diagnostic biomarker for Parkinson’s

The German university spin-out betaSENSE GmbH has published stunning results from two clinical trials that suggest that the ratio of alpha-synuclein to beta-synuclein protein might allow pre-onset diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. In the EMBO Journal (10.1038/s44321-025-00229-z), CEO Klaus Gerwert and his team reported that they reached an AUC of 0,90 ((n = 134, 95% CI 0.85–0.96) for the novel biomarker.

Parkinson’s disease is characterised by the loss of dopaminergic nerve cells in the mid-brain, which leads to increasing motor impairments as the disease progresses. At the same time, sticky alpha-helical protein aggregates form as a result of a conformational change of the beta-sheet protein alpha-synuclein. The administration of dopamine can compensate for the loss of dopamine-producing neurones for a time and thus alleviate the symptoms in certain phases. However, promising results of a Japanese research group and BAYER AG subsidiary Bluerock presented last week suggest that stem-cell-derived cell therapies might provide a curative approach to treat the neurodegenerative disorder.

In two independent clinical studies with a total of 134 participants, betaSense demonstrated that the conversion of beta-helical to alpha-helical structures of alpha-synuclein is a suitable biomarker with a sensitivity of 97% and specificity of  92% for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The work was based on cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients at two Parkinson’s centres in Bochum. The measurements were carried out using the patented immuno-infrared sensor technology from betaSense GmbH, which has been already used to detect misfolded Abeta oligomers 17 years before onset of the first Alzheimer’s symptoms  The technology can also be used to monitor efficacy in clinical trials. Moreover, a first subgroup analysis implied the potential for patient stratification in clinically overlapping cases.