CAnyone who knows them immediately associates them with summer, golden skin and the classic capsules “to prepare for the sun”. And today carotenoids – the same natural pigments that protect the skin from UV rays and promote tanning – officially enter Parkinson’s research. A new all-Italian discovery demonstrates that the their presence in the blood can predict the effectiveness of rehabilitation in patients with Parkinson’s disease, paving the way for truly personalized therapies.
A step forward in Parkinson’s rehabilitation
New research, conducted by Don Gnocchi Foundation of Milanreveals that carotenoids present in the blood can be used as biomarkers for predict the effectiveness of rehabilitation in patients with Parkinson’s disease. The studypublished in the scientific journal Redox Biology, paves the way for increasingly personalized therapeutic protocols, with concrete benefits in terms of prognosis and quality of life.
Carotenoids – known for their antioxidant role and for protecting the skin during sun exposure – thus become a possible clinical tool. According to the researchers, in fact, lower levels of these molecules before the start of therapy are associated with a better response to motor rehabilitation.
The study: how measurement works
The investigation has involved 30 patients with Parkinson’ssubjected to a rehabilitation program at the Irccs Don Gnocchi in Florence. Raman spectroscopy was used to measure the molecules circulating in the blood, an advanced technology that allows the molecular composition to be analyzed quickly and non-invasively.
«Raman spectroscopy allows the molecular composition of particles in the blood to be analyzed non-invasively, providing detailed and objective information on the biochemical changes induced by rehabilitation», explains Alice Gualerzi, biologist and researcher at the Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Clinical Biophotonics (Labion).
The study focused in particular on circulating natural nanoparticles: carotenoids and extracellular vesicles, real “micro-bubbles” containing proteins and RNA that reflect the biological state of the organism.
Why it is important for those with Parkinson’s
The possibility of identifying in advance which patients will respond best to rehabilitation represents a significant change in the way of treating Parkinson’s. Today, in fact, the success of rehabilitation programs is mainly evaluated retrospectively, on the basis of subjective clinical criteria.
«The identification of objective and measurable predictive biomarkers represents a turning point for rehabilitation medicine», explains Marzia Bedoni, scientific director and co-founder of Labion. «This allows you to personalize treatments based on the biological characteristics of the individual patient and optimize the resources of the healthcare system”. Until now, the response to motor rehabilitation was assessed only after weeks of therapy. Now, thanks to a simple blood samplingit may be possible to predict in advance which patients will respond best to treatment. In fact, the study demonstrates that lower levels of carotenoids before the start of rehabilitation are associated with better motor recovery.
The turning point for Parkinson’s rehabilitation medicine
Having objective biomarkers means moving from a subjective evaluation to a scientific measurement of the therapeutic response. «The identification of objective and measurable predictive biomarkers represents a turning point for rehabilitation medicine», comments Marzia Bedoni, scientific director and co-founder of LABION. «This allows resources to be directed to the patients who are most likely to benefit and improve the quality of life of people with Parkinson’s”. The research also identified a threshold value which allows us to understand, even before starting, which patients will respond best to rehabilitation. In the future, a withdrawal will be enough to know whether to focus on intensive protocols, such as those with augmented virtual reality of the VIRTREAD-PD project. This study, conducted at the IRCCS of Florence and Milan of the Don Gnocchi Foundation, aims to establish the effectiveness of treadmill rehabilitation with augmented virtual reality and identify biomarkers (from clinical motor and cognitive parameters to instrumental motor parameters, to proteins in the blood) that can predict the response to treatment. Furthermore, the VIRTREAD-PD study intends to develop personalized rehabilitation protocols, i.e. designed for the individual patient.
What changes in the treatment of Parkinson’s
This discovery paves the way for truly personalized rehabilitation. Identifying “good responders” in advance means offering targeted treatments, avoid unuseful routesbut tiring for the patient, optimize resources and improve prognosis. All thanks to molecules that, until yesterday, we only associated with summer and sunbathing.