10011986ESP: An in-vitro diagnostic test for neurodegenerative disordersClosedStudyInnovate UKParkinson's disease is the most common degenerative movement disorder and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second commonest form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. Parkinson's and DLB both share a common pathology, a-synuclein protein, which makes clumps called Lewy bodies in the nerve cells of the brain. The reason why Parkinson's and DLB have different symptoms is because the Lewy bodies kill nerve cells in different parts of the brain. Every year in the UK, around 20,000 people develop Parkinson's disease along with over 20,000 new cases of DLB. Diagnosis of Parkinson's or DLB can take up to 3 years and relies on clinical assessment by an expert hospital consultant. A brain scan (DaTScan) is currently the best way to help with diagnosis, but is used in only one fifth of patients. Unfortunately, DaTScan only indirectly measures disease, is only available at specialist centres, only detects established disease, and is expensive. Parkinson's and DLB patients need to be diagnosed early, so the correct treatment can be given quickly. This is especially important in DLB, where if these patients are prescribed the wrong medication, life-threatening complications can occur. Newcastle University has developed a new test called ESP - 'Extracellular Synucleinopathic Protein', for diagnosis of Parkinson's and DLB patients. ESP test can detect early disease changes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF - the fluid that bathes the brain) or in blood by measuring the microscopic clumps of synuclein protein found in Parkinson's and DLB. ESP has clear advantages since it could provide early, accurate, fast, minimally-invasive diagnosis, at a fraction of the cost of DaTScan. ESP could allow patients to get early and accurate diagnosis, so that they can make lifestyle adjustments, and receive correct treatment quickly. Discussions with patients, clinicians and charity organisations identified a huge unmet market need in this area, and indicated that ESP test would be a game changer for early and accurate diagnosis of these disorders. Innovate UK are supporting our new company 'ESP Diagnostics Ltd', by helping to further develop the ESP test. This will be so that the ESP test can be used for Parkinson's and DLB patients who are enrolled in clinical trials of new treatments, and eventually using ESP as part of clinical diagnosis for Parkinson's and DLB in hospitals in the UK and globally.