The search for early answers

A research team in Saskatchewan is developing a blood test that could one day help identify a faster-progressing, harder-to-treat form of Parkinson’s – years earlier than is possible today.

Getting a Parkinson’s diagnosis can take a long time. There is no single test that confirms it. Instead, clinicians piece together a diagnosis from symptoms, history, and a process of ruling other things out. For people living with Parkinson’s, and for the people who love and support them, that uncertainty can be one of the hardest parts of the journey. Any breakthrough in research that can help people get an accurate diagnosis, faster, can make all the difference in getting access to the right care, earlier in the journey.

Dr. Chris Phenix, an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Arts and Science, leads a research team working on a tool that could change that timeline for a subset of Parkinson’s diagnoses. His lab designs different molecules that selectively paint specific enzymes in the body with fluorescent or radioactive tracers, allowing researchers and clinicians to visualize them and measure their activity in plants, animals, and humans – and with early support from Parkinson Canada, his team has turned that expertise toward Parkinson’s. The goal of the group’s research isn’t to replace a doctor’s judgment, but to give clinicians a fast, accessible new piece of evidence: a blood test that measures the activity of a single enzyme.

The enzyme at the centre of the story

The enzyme Dr. Phenix and his team are focusing on is called glucocerebrosidase, or GCase for short. It’s found in nearly every cell in the body, where it works as part of the cell’s waste disposal to help break down certain fatty molecules.

In some people living with Parkinson’s, GCase activity appears to drop. That matters more than it sounds like it should, because when GCase activity falls, fatty byproducts can build up inside neurons. There is growing evidence linking this buildup to clumps of a protein called alpha-synuclein – the same protein found in Lewy bodies, a hallmark of Parkinson’s. Over time, this process may contribute to the loss of neurons.

A specific form of Parkinson’s, called GBA1-associated Parkinson’s, is tied directly to mutations in the gene that produces GCase. People with this form often experience early onset, faster-progressing symptoms, and a higher chance of certain related challenges, including dopamine dysregulation syndrome – a tendency toward compulsive, reward-seeking behaviours – and a higher likelihood of related dementia.

Why a blood test, and why now

Researchers have long suspected that measuring GCase activity could be useful, both for flagging GBA1-associated Parkinson’s earlier and for supporting new GCase-boosting therapies already in development. The hard part has always been figuring out how to measure it precisely enough to be useful.

One option is a specialized type of brain imaging. But as Dr. Phenix explains, that approach comes with real barriers: it requires a multi-million-dollar facility and a team able to prepare radioactive tracers within a couple of hours of use. There is also currently no validated way to image GCase in the brain.

A blood-based approach sidesteps this. The vision is simple: draw blood, run it through a precise lab process, and have a usable measurement of GCase activity within about 24 hours, without needing specialized imaging equipment or a long wait.

A decade of work behind one blood draw

Getting to this point meant inventing something that didn’t exist: a molecule precise enough to single out GCase from the tens of thousands of other proteins in the human body, and sensitive enough to measure its activity inside living blood cells.

The team’s answer is a fluorescent probe – a custom-built molecule that binds to GCase and gives off light when it does, allowing Dr. Phenix’s team to measure how much GCase is present in a given blood sample using a lab method called flow cytometry. Developing and testing probes precise enough for this work took close to 10 years, starting with early funding from Parkinson Canada. That early support helped prove the concept and laid the groundwork for larger funding that followed, allowing the work to move toward testing in people.

It’s a good reminder of how research actually unfolds. A finished tool can look inevitable once it exists. In reality, it usually starts small: early grants, years of careful testing, and a long chain of funding decisions before anything reaches a clinic.

An important note: this isn’t a one-size-fits-all test

It’s worth being clear about what this test is and isn’t. Dr. Phenix and his team are careful not to overstate its scope. This isn’t being developed as a single test for all forms of Parkinson’s. Its clearest, most immediate value is as a tool to help identify people with GBA1-associated Parkinson’s and others with notably reduced GCase activity – information that could help clinicians anticipate a faster-progressing course and respond earlier.

There is also active scientific discussion about how widely the GCase connection applies. Some research suggests reduced GCase activity may show up more broadly across Parkinson’s, not only in people with GBA1 mutations. Researchers are still working out whether GCase changes drive the buildup of alpha-synuclein, or the reverse. Dr. Phenix sees this open question as one of the most exciting parts of the work: a precise new tool doesn’t just enable one test, it opens the door to understanding the biological mechanisms of Parkinson’s progression in new ways¹.

People with certain risk factors who could benefit from earlier flagging in the future may include those with REM sleep behaviour disorder, which some research links to a higher chance of developing Parkinson’s later on, and people with Gaucher disease, a condition already closely linked to GBA1 mutations and Parkinson’s risk.

A tool for new treatments, too

There’s a second group this work could help: the people developing new Parkinson’s therapies. Several academic and industry researchers are working on treatments designed to boost GCase activity, on the idea that restoring the enzyme’s function could help slow the condition’s progression. Right now, these companies have no reliable way to confirm whether their treatment is actually reaching and affecting its biochemical target in a given person – something researchers call target engagement and is critical information for late-stage clinical trials2,3.

A validated GCase blood test could help in two ways: identifying people whose GCase activity is low enough to be good candidates for a GCase-boosting trial during patient selection, and tracking whether a treatment is measurably changing GCase activity over time. That kind of evidence often matters a great deal when therapies move toward larger, later-stage trials.

A close, longstanding collaboration

Part of what makes this project distinctive is the close relationship between the chemistry research team and movement disorder specialists including Dr. Eric Noyes and ALex Rajput at the Saskatchewan Movement Disorders Clinic, which can provide access to one of the largest Parkinson’s brain banks in the world, built over decades of clinical work and community trust.

That kind of close collaboration between basic science and frontline clinicians along with local patient populations isn’t all that common, and Dr. Phenix describes it as a genuine advantage. Clinicians help point researchers toward the questions that matter most in everyday practice, while his team brings chemical tools precise enough to start answering them.

Why this matters

For people living with Parkinson’s and the people who support them, work like this points toward a future with fewer unanswered questions, and answers that come sooner. A test that takes about 24 hours, rather than weeks or months, and doesn’t require highly specialized equipment, could become a rapid and reliable piece of information clinicians use to understand and manage the condition.

It isn’t a cure, and it isn’t a stand-alone answer for everyone living with Parkinson’s, but it’s a meaningful step toward earlier clarity for the people who need it most, and a great example of how research that starts small with early donor support can grow into something with real promise for the Parkinson’s community.

To learn more about Parkinson’s research, including how to get involved in research or apply for funding, please visit www.parkinson.ca/research.

References 

  1. Do J, McKinney C, Sharma P, Sidransky E. Glucocerebrosidase and its relevance to Parkinson disease. Mol Neurodegener. 2019;14:36. doi:10.1186/s13024-019-0336-2 
  1. Dzamko N. Pathological protein targets in Parkinson’s disease: progress towards the development of disease-modifying therapies. CNS Drugs. 2026;40:509-522. doi:10.1007/s40263-026-01275-y 
  1. Menozzi E, Toffoli M, Deleidi M, Di Monte DA, Blandini F, Krainc D, Sidransky E, Schapira AHV. New evidence on the clinical, genetic, and biochemical bases of GBA1-Parkinson’s disease: prospects for treatment. Lancet Neurol. 2026;25(6):602-614. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(26)00090-6