Summary: CND Life Sciences’ Syn-Sleep Study found phosphorylated alpha-synuclein in 75% of patients with idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder at baseline, supporting the use of skin biopsy as a potential biomarker for early detection and future progression of synucleinopathies like Parkinson’s disease.
Key Takeaways:
- A new research abstract presented at SLEEP 2025 detected phosphorylated alpha-synuclein in 75% of patients with idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder at baseline.
- The results support evidence that iRBD is a prodromal neurodegenerative condition and suggest skin punch biopsy can be used to assess P-SYN status.
- The ability to detect those patients at risk opens the door for earlier neurodegenerative disease modulation and prevention trials.
CND Life Sciences, a medical technology company developing cutaneous neurodiagnostic tests and biomarker services, released baseline results from the 24-month longitudinal Syn-Sleep Study, which is investigating deposition of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein in skin biopsies of patients with both idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder and no evidence of other neurodegenerative diseases.
So far, results have shown phosphorylated alpha-synuclein detection in 75% of patients with idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) at baseline. The research abstract was presented at SLEEP 2025.
Idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder is a well-established early indicator of future neurodegenerative conditions involving phosphorylated alpha-synuclein (P-SYN). P-SYN is a pathological protein associated with neurodegenerative conditions known as synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. One scientific paper showed that 73.5% of patients diagnosed with idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (n=1,280) converted to Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy within 12 years.
The Syn-One Test measures the presence of intra-neuronal P-SYN through an in-office skin punch biopsy procedure and has previously demonstrated 95% positivity rate in patients with clinically definite synucleinopathies including Parkinson’s, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy.
By using the Syn-One Test, the goals of the Syn-Sleep Study are to assess
- the presence of P-SYN in skin biopsies in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder patients with no evidence of a neurodegenerative disease, and
- if the pattern of P-SYN deposition is a predictor of future phenoconversion to a clinically definite synucleinopathy.
“These results support evidence that iRBD is a prodromal neurodegenerative condition and suggests that a minimally invasive skin biopsy can be used to assess P-SYN status in these patients,” says study investigator Michele Tagliati, MD, a movement specialist in the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai, in a release. “As the field advances and there are lifestyle interventions and future drug therapies that could address diseases like [Parkinson’s disease] and [dementia with Lewy bodies] before they fully develop, determining if an RBD patient has synuclein deposition will be increasingly important.”
Baseline Study Highlights
Highlights from the baseline study include:
- A total of 80 patients with iRBD without evidence of other neurodegenerative disease enrolled in the Syn-Sleep Study
- Enrolled subjects had symptoms of iRBD for an average of 6.7 years
- Patients with abnormal test results tended to be older and had the disease for longer periods
- Those individuals with P-SYN found in skin biopsy tended to have a greater degree of hyposmia (diminished sense of smell)
- P-SYN positivity rates did not differ based on the severity of iRBD symptoms, autonomic symptoms, or how iRBD was diagnosed (polysomnography or iRBD questionnaire)
“We are currently doing a longitudinal reassessment of these subjects to determine if quantification of P-SYN can serve as a biomarker of disease progression,” says principal investigator Todd Levine, MD, chief medical officer of CND Life Sciences, CME, clinical professor at Arizona State University, in a release “The ability to detect those patients at risk opens the door for earlier disease modulation and prevention trials.”
I have many of the conditions mentioned in this presentation.
Do you have researchers in Sydney or Newcastle Australia that i could contact.
Kind reards
John Burnel
I have many of the conditions mentioned in the above.
Do you have any one in Sydney or Newcastle Australia I could contact for testing and or treatment.
Kind regards
John Burnell