A simple skin biopsy can now tell two devastating brain diseases apart

Telling multiple system atrophy apart from Parkinson's disease usually takes years — and often a spinal tap. Peer-reviewed research in npj Parkinson's Disease now shows a skin-based test, called a seed amplification assay, can distinguish multiple system atrophy from Parkinson's and dementia with Lewy bodies using a simple skin biopsy, matching what spinal-fluid tests reveal. It is the first published demonstration of the approach with skin samples.