@article{2997574, title = "Elevated Serum α-Synuclein Levels in Huntington's Disease Patients", author = "Breza, M. and Emmanouilidou, E. and Leandrou, E. and Kartanou, C. and Bougea, A. and Panas, M. and Stefanis, L. and Karadima, G. and Vekrellis, K. and Koutsis, G.", journal = "Translational Neuroscience", year = "2020", volume = "431", pages = "34-39", publisher = "Elsevier Ireland Ltd", doi = "10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.01.037", keywords = "alpha synuclein; dopamine receptor blocking agent; serotonin noradrenalin reuptake inhibitor; serotonin uptake inhibitor; tetrabenazine; alpha synuclein, adult; Article; CAG repeat; clinical article; controlled study; disease burden; disease duration; enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; female; human; Huntington chorea; male; priority journal; protein blood level; Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale; Huntington chorea; Parkinson disease, alpha-Synuclein; Humans; Huntington Disease; Parkinson Disease", abstract = "Recent evidence suggests a potential role for mixed proteinopathies in the development of clinical manifestations in patients with Huntington's disease (HD). A possible cross-talk between mutant huntingtin and α-synuclein aggregates has been postulated. Serum α-synuclein has been evaluated as a potential biomarker in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We presently sought to investigate serum α-synuclein levels in 38 HD patients (34 symptomatic and 4 premanifest) and compare them to 36 controls. We found that α-synuclein was elevated in HD patients vs. controls (2.49 ± 1.47 vs. 1.40 ± 1.16, p = 0.001). There was no difference in α-synuclein levels between symptomatic vs. premanifest HD, nor between HD patients receiving medication vs. treatment-naïve. Furthermore, α-synuclein levels showed no correlation with CAG2, Unified HD Rating Scale (UHDRS) motor score, age, disease duration or disease burden score. Our results provide evidence for elevated serum α-synuclein in HD and lend support to further investigating the role of α-synuclein in this disorder. © 2020 IBRO" }