We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

WATERS CORPORATION

Waters Corp. designs, manufactures, sells and services ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), high performan... read more Featured Products: More products

Download Mobile App




Low Serotonin Levels Associated with Higher Nigral Iron in Parkinson’s Disease

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 17 Jan 2022
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized clinically by bradykinesia, rigidity, and/or tremor and pathologically by dopaminergic neuron loss in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and the presence of ⍺-synuclein-containing inclusions in cell bodies or neurites (Lewy pathology).

Iron accumulation in the brain is common with aging and consistently reported to be increased in PD, particularly in the substantia nigra (and specifically the SNc). More...
Low serotonin is thought to contribute to the high rate (~ 35%) of clinically significant depression, an often prodromal symptom, among patients. Lower CSF serotonin also has been associated with freezing of gait.

A team of Neurologist at Pennsylvania State University (Hershey, PA, USA) and their associates investigated whether lower plasma serotonin in PD is associated with higher nigral iron. They obtained plasma samples from 97 PD patients and 89 controls and MRI scans from a sub-cohort (62 PD, 70 controls).

For analysis of peripheral serum iron metrics (red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum iron, transferrin, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin saturation) and platelet counts, blood was collected into a BD PST II plasma separator tube (Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ , USA), and analyzed by using standard assays.

Plasma serotonin concentrations were measured using an Acuity ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) I class and Xevo triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (TQ-S MS/MS) system (Waters, Milford, MA, USA). Brain MRI scans were offered to all subjects, but completed by only a subset (70 controls, 62 PD patients) and were used for regional iron content using MRI-based quantitative susceptibility mapping.

The investigators reported that PD patients had lower mean plasma serotonin concentrations than controls [in log scale, 5.53 ± 1.40 versus 6.25 ± 0.85, P < 0.0001] and higher nigral iron content (SNc: p < 0.001) overall. The correlation appeared strongest in patients during the first year of diagnosis but waned in later stage disease, when an increasing number of influences on these features presumably come into play. However, the PD distribution appeared distinctly bimodal, and the group difference was driven by approximately one-third of patients with extremely low concentrations (the lowest tertile, n = 32; < 150 nM). In the remaining two-thirds of PD patients, plasma serotonin concentrations were distributed relatively widely and within the normal range of controls.

The authors concluded that there was a robust correlation between low plasma serotonin and higher iron content in the SNc in PD, which was absent in controls. This correlation was present even in patients within one year of diagnosis, suggesting it might also be present in the prodromal phase, and was stronger in the SNc than any other brain region examined. The study was published on December 21, 2021 in the journal Scientific Reports.

Related Links:
Pennsylvania State University
Becton, Dickinson and Company
Waters



New
Gold Member
Serological Pipets
INTEGRA Serological Pipets
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
New
Staining Management Software
DakoLink
New
Gold Member
Quality Control Material
iPLEX Pro Exome QC Panel
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








DIASOURCE (A Biovendor Company)

Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
These images illustrate how precision oncology Organ Chips recapitulate individual patients’ responses to chemotherapy (Photo courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.