A domestic research team has developed a technology that can enable early diagnosis of neurological disorders using only a small amount of saliva.

On the 2nd, the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) announced that a research team led by Dr. Park Sung-gyu of the Bio & Health Materials Division, in collaboration with research teams from Korea University and the Catholic University of Korea, has developed a “galvanic molecular capture–SERS platform.”

According to KIMS, unlike existing blood- and cerebrospinal fluid-based test methods, which are costly and can be burdensome for patients, this technology directly detects structural changes in proteins using only saliva. “Protein fibrillation” has been identified as a causative factor in neurological disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and schizophrenia. Previously, in order to test for protein fibrillation, blood or cerebrospinal fluid had to be extracted, followed by complex preprocessing and analysis using expensive equipment. A safer and more convenient method has now emerged.

Dr. Park explained, “An era has opened in which the status of brain diseases can be assessed simply by analyzing saliva, without positron emission tomography (PET) or cerebrospinal fluid testing.”

In the course of the study, the research team worked with frontline hospitals to analyze saliva samples from a total of 44 patients with epilepsy, schizophrenia, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as 23 healthy controls. The team reported that the results confirmed the technology can classify neurological disorders with an accuracy of over 90%.

The research team stated that, going forward, it plans to commercialize the technology by developing diagnostic devices and pursuing technology transfer to medical and life science companies.

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