Changes of T lymphocyte subpopulations and their roles in predicting the risk of Parkinson’s disease

Journal of Neurology, 2022 · DOI: 10.1007/s00415-022-11190-z · Published: May 24, 2022

Simple Explanation

This study investigates the role of T lymphocytes in Parkinson's disease (PD) by analyzing different T-cell subpopulations in PD patients and healthy controls. The researchers found that PD patients had fewer naïve CD8+ T cells and more late-differentiated CD4+ T cells compared to healthy individuals. They developed prediction models based on these T lymphocyte subpopulations to assess the risk of developing PD, showing high reliability and accuracy.

Study Duration

Nov 2017 to May 2020

Participants

115 PD patients and 60 healthy controls

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
PD patients exhibited decreased naïve CD8+ T cells and increased late-differentiated CD4+ T cells compared to healthy controls.
2
The proportion of naïve CD8+ T cells in PD patients was positively correlated with the severity of autonomic dysfunction and psychiatric complications.
3
Late-differentiated CD4+ T cells were negatively correlated with the onset age of the disease.

Research Summary

This study analyzed T lymphocyte subpopulations in PD patients and healthy controls, finding significant differences in naïve CD8+ T cells and late-differentiated CD4+ T cells. These T-cell changes were correlated with clinical characteristics of PD, such as autonomic dysfunction, psychiatric complications, and age of disease onset. The researchers developed prediction models using these T lymphocyte subsets to assess PD risk, demonstrating high reliability and accuracy for potential clinical application.

Practical Implications

Biomarker Identification

Naïve CD8+ T cells and late-differentiated CD4+ T cells can be potential biomarkers for predicting PD risk.

Therapeutic Targets

Late-differentiated CD4+ T cells may be a potential target for PD intervention.

Risk Prediction

The nomogram models developed can be used as visual tools for identifying PD patients who are clinically difficult to diagnose by symptoms.

Study Limitations

1
The sample size of the cohort is not large enough to validate the nomogram models in the internal cohort and no external validation was applied either.
2
A wide variety of exogenous factors were associated with PD risks were not taken into consideration, which might have resulted in some bias in multivariate regression analyses.
3
It is difficult to fully exclude the contribution of therapeutic agents to these cellular alterations, as medication and disease progression usually change in parallel.

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