Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Sep 07, 2025 2 days, 8 hours, 13 minutes ago
Medical News: A Simple Blood Test Offering New Hope
Researchers in Mexico have uncovered evidence that a routine blood test may hold important clues for detecting Parkinson’s disease earlier than ever before. Their focus was on the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), a measure of how much hemoglobin is packed inside red blood cells. This
Medical News report shows that a number doctors already see in everyday blood tests could become a valuable tool in spotting Parkinson’s.
Common Blood Test Can Reveal Hidden Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
The work was carried out by scientists from Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, the Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra in Mexico City, Hospital Santiago Ramón y Cajal under ISSSTE in Durango, and Tecnologico de Monterrey’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
How the Study Was Done
The team studied 70 people living with Parkinson’s disease and compared their blood test results with 122 healthy volunteers. Participants were evaluated for age, sex, smoking history, cognitive function, depression, and disease severity. Blood samples were analyzed using standard hospital equipment to measure hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cell indices, with particular attention to MCHC levels.
Clear Differences in Blood Markers
The results showed that Parkinson’s patients consistently had higher MCHC levels than people without the disease. On average, patients had readings of about 34.1 g/dL compared to 32.8 g/dL in healthy controls. The link remained strong even when factoring in age, gender, and smoking. Both men and women with Parkinson’s showed this elevation.
When tested for diagnostic accuracy, MCHC performed reasonably well in distinguishing patients from non-patients. Using a cutoff level of 33.9 g/dL, the test reached a sensitivity of 62.9 percent and a specificity of 72.1 percent. When analyzed separately, women showed improved sensitivity while men showed stronger specificity. Importantly, the elevated MCHC did not change with disease stage or duration, suggesting it may serve as a stable trait marker rather than a measure influenced by how advanced the illness is.
Why It Matters for Patients and Doctors
Parkinson’s disease, which affects more than 10 million people globally, is usually diagnosed only after noticeable movement symptoms emerge. By then, brain cell damage is already significant. The discovery that a simple blood marker like MCHC could point to the disease earlier raises hopes for faster intervention, better management, and perhaps improved outcomes. Since MCHC is already included in standard blood tests, it could be used without extra cost or specialized equipment.
Conclusion
This study is the first to confirm in a Mexican population that elevated MCHC is strongly linked with Parkinson’s disease, regardless of patient age, sex, or dis
ease severity. While further research with larger and more diverse groups is needed, the findings highlight the potential of MCHC as a practical, low-cost biomarker. If combined with other markers of inflammation and iron metabolism, it may one day help doctors diagnose Parkinson’s more accurately and at an earlier stage. Ultimately, this research points to a future where a simple blood test could play a crucial role in fighting a devastating neurological disorder.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Brain Sciences
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/9/966
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