Blood Immune Cell Analysis Detects Parkinson’s Before Symptoms Appear

The condition, which affects nearly 12 million people globally, is typically identified only after significant neurological damage has already occurred, often when tremors and other motor symptoms become visible. Now, a research team has developed a genetic blood analysis method that may help detect the disease before symptoms appear.

In a new study, scientists from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH, Elche, Spain) along with collaborators used standard laboratory equipment already available in many hospitals to analyze peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from newly diagnosed patients and healthy volunteers. The sequencing and bioinformatics analysis identified 22 genes with altered activity in Parkinson’s patients—many linked to immune response, inflammation, molecular transport, and iron homeostasis, processes previously implicated in neurodegeneration.

These findings, published in Neurotherapeutics, suggest that genetic changes in immune cells could serve as early biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease and may reveal underlying biological mechanisms that drive its onset and progression. The study also detected shifts in pathways related to cell survival, inflammation, and programmed cell death, offering new molecular insights into disease evolution.

The exploratory study included 23 patients with Parkinsonism and 16 healthy controls. Although the sample size was small, the results are consistent with independent studies conducted in Italy and the United States, reinforcing the potential of blood-based molecular diagnostics for early Parkinson’s detection.

“Until recently, the only definitive diagnosis came from post-mortem tissue analysis, but it is crucial to develop fast, minimally invasive methods that detect the disease earlier,” said UMH Professor Jorge Manzanares, who led the study.

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