Abnormal serum concentrations of proteins in Parkinson's disease.

Blood serum was used to identify protein biomarkers for diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) using analytically validated quantitative 2D-gel electrophoresis, and single variable and multivariate statistics. Using banked samples from a first medical center, we identified 57 specific protein spot biomarkers with disease-specific abnormal levels in serum of patients with PD, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and similar neurodegenerative conditions (337 samples), when compared to age-matched normal controls (132 samples). To further assess their clinical usefulness in Parkinson's disease, we obtained prospective newly drawn blood serum samples from a second (56 PD, 30 controls) and third (6 PD, 48 controls) medical center.

[The identification of alphaviruses by using cDNA probes complementary to the 3'-terminal of the viral genome].

Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis, Eastern equine encephalomyelitis and Sindbis viruses, as well as members of various serological groups of alphaviruses were identified using synthesized molecular probes complementary to 3'-terminus of the molecule of the appropriate genomic RNA: 32P-single-stranded kDNA and E. coli-cloned 32P-double-stranded kDNA. A high species-specificity of kDNA-probes was demonstrated.